Saskatoon man officially world's oldest plumber

A Saskatchewan man is setting a Guinness World Record as the oldest plumber on the planet.

At 92 years old, Lorne Figley still makes house calls in Saskatoon – with no plans to hang up the wrench anytime soon.

“It’s fun to solve problems,” he said.

Raised in Tuberose, Sask. Figley said he never considered what he was doing to be impressive. His daughter applied to Guinness World Records as a surprise Christmas present that came a bit late. 

“When she tried to process it last year, it took months to prove it and got approved a few months ago,” he said. 

Over his nearly seven decades as a plumber in Saskatchewan, Figley noted little has changed about the trade.

“It’s a way of meeting people,” he said. “Most of the people (celebrating his record) are customers or were customers and they still call.”

Figley turns 93 in December and said he plans to continue working as a plumber until the day he dies – on one condition.

“Only if they stop making whiskey, I’ll quit,” Figley said with a laugh.