Pharmacists Alfie and Esmet Kozman have hung up their white coats after 37 years of dedicated service to the Woolooware community. While the industry has become dominated by large pharmacy chains, their modest little store in Wills Road on the northern side of the train station has continued to dispense care as much as prescriptions. Many of their patients, whom they regarded as family, are elderly and will miss them greatly, although the pharmacy continues under new ownership. "My brain is still working, but I have a bad hip and need a walking frame," Alfie, 82, told the Leader. The couple took over the shop in 1986 from Fred Tiessel, one of the shire's first chemists, who established the business in 1954. Fred's wife told the Kozmans she used to collect milk in a bucket from the dairy across the road, where Woolooware Public School now stands. Alfie, 82, and Esmet, who is seven years younger, both trained and graduated as pharmacists in their homeland of Egypt. Alfie came to Australia in 1967 and met Esmet during a return visit. They married six days later and left for Australia soon after to start a new life together, including acquiring new accreditation. "We said 'why not?'," Alfie recalled with a laugh. "We have been married 53 years, with three beautiful children and nine grandchildren, and life is good for us. She is my life. She supports me, she is everything. "My idea is that a good marriage is like a good wine, it gets better by the time. It is not something that is happening overnight. It develops over time and you get closer to each other." The eldest of their children, Haidee, is a corporate executive, and their sons, Mathew and Daniel, are surgeons. Daniel is at St George Hospital, while Mathew and his wife Joanne, a GP, live in South Australia. Daughter-in-law Joanne Kozman, who had a GP practice adjoining the Woolooware pharmacy for a time, said the couple were "humble, very caring and long-standing contributors to the community - it is very hard for them to walk away." The couple are moving from their longtime Sylvania home to be closer to their daughter.