Roger Woolaver, president of Lamps Unlimited in McLean, will mark 60 years with the company on Sunday, Sept. 6.

Woolaver started at the chain's Seven Corners store on Sept. 6, 1966, when he was 20 years old, according to a store announcement on FFXnow. He learned the business from the stockroom up, working his way to manager of the Seven Corners location before moving to run the Rockville branch in 1976. In 1987, the family offered him ownership of the McLean store, and he, his wife Margie, their daughters and a team of associates have kept it open at 1362 Chain Bridge Rd. for 39 years.

The store was founded in 1957 by Woolaver's wife's aunt and uncle and once operated nine locations across the D.C. area, the Fairfax County Times reported. Only the McLean shop remains.

"I jumped at the opportunity," Woolaver told the Times about taking over the store. "My wife Margie shook with fear, but we soon realized that this was the best thing to ever come to us."

Woolaver, who turns 81 in October, built his repair skills under James Williams, a veteran repairman at the Seven Corners store. He now handles everything from socket replacements to chandelier rewiring. He and his staff also build custom lamps from found objects like vases, wine bottles, fire extinguishers and trumpets. Woolaver has playfully labeled some of his creations "Roget," and one customer, after learning a lamp was his handiwork, asked him to sign the bottom.

Woolaver told the Times that online competition has squeezed the business but that customers still value individual care, product knowledge and the chance to see fixtures in person. Recessed lighting is his current favorite to sell for its versatility.

The store called Woolaver's six decades at the company the full arc of one man's working life. Residents can visit Lamps Unlimited at 1362 Chain Bridge Rd. or call (703) 827-0090.