ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – If you have been in need of a watch or clock repair in Abilene, chances are high that you’ve heard the name R. Honey’s. This little repair shop has been the Key City’s longest-operating watch and clock store with 25 years under its belt. As of Thursday, July 27, owners Holly and Percy Parsons locked up shop for the last time.

“We’ve worn a lot of hats through our lives, and this has been a fun one,” Holly Parsons said.

Holly and her husband Percy first opened their business in 1998 as a European Antiques store, but frequent customer complaints about a lack of local clock repair services led them to seek out a new skill to fill that need. Percy said he called up one of his former professors to learn the trade.

“Dr. Huff said, you know how to do it; it’s just mechanics. Just take it apart and put it back together,” Holly recalled.

“We ran an ad in the paper, clock repair. Hadn’t seen the inside of a clock yet,” Percy added.

Despite their lack of background in the field, the Parsons quickly became ‘Mr. and Mrs. fix it.’ Their customers appreciated their particular brand of business, and some became devoted and routinely recommended them to others.

“One day, I went to put a new customer in the system, and it said you’ve maxed out your customer base. I called QuickBooks, and I said What does this mean?… They said it means you’ve got 14 thousand customers, and you can’t put any more in,” Percy explained.

Since then, they’ve nearly doubled that customer base. The Parsons said the people they met were the reason behind their success and their driving force to continue offering their services.

“We truly do have the best customers, and we made a lot of new friends. Old friends would come in. It’s been amazing,” Holly expressed.

“We like people,” Percy added.

And people seemed to like them too, perhaps a bit too much at times, as Percy let on.

“I had a plaque. I wish I had it here on my desk now. It said I am not your therapist. Go tell somebody else,” Percy joked.

However, that doesn’t mean he didn’t appreciate the community that supported and befriended them.

“If we wouldn’t have liked it, we wouldn’t have done it,” Percy said.

Now, as they look at the empty walls they worked 25 years to fill, the memories of R. Honey’s are more sweet than bitter.

“I was afraid that would be hard, but when it came to it, and all of our things were out of here, it’s just a building,” said Holly.

Although they know their customers are going to have to find a new business to fill their role, the Parsons feel 25 years of service is more than enough to have earned their retirement.

“People come in and say, what am I gonna do? And my answer to them is I don’t care,” joked Percy.

It’s those same people they’ll keep in their thoughts and run into at the grocery store as they enjoy retirement. Each day is full of possibilities and spurred on by the memories they carry with them.

“We live every day, you know? We’ve got great memories, and most of it’s people,” Percy said.

As for the merchandise and some of their decorations left behind as they closed their doors, the Parsons said they have given it to the Gypsy Rose Antique store, so anyone in search of an item they carried may be able to find it there one last time.