Mother-daughter duo retire from McBride insurance company

By Andrea Arnold

Life beyond this first half of 2025 is going to look very different for Rosemary Hruby and her mom Rose Lucius. Having finally made retirement from the insurance world official, the mother and daughter duo are looking forward to new adventures.  

Hruby’s journey to building Advantage Insurance began when she realized it was a niche in the community that needed to be filled. 

Following her arrival from Texas in January of 1980, Hruby held a few jobs before stepping into the insurance world.  

She worked at the gas and service station on Main Street until 1986, helping her husband David out by pumping gas.  She then worked for local social services for a year and then as the Village Office Deputy Clerk. It was in this last role that she first served the community’s insurance needs as the ICBC and motor vehicle agent for about five years. 

At this point, Hruby realized that the needs of the community were greater than what was being offered. She looked into what she needed to do to be an insurance agent, and was told that she needed to complete four courses in order to branch out. She completed these only to find out that she then needed to work under someone for a few years first. 

“I found Rick Frost of Martin, McDermit and Frost Insurance out of Kamloops,” she said. “They agreed to have me operate as a satellite office.” 

Two years later, the firm sold. Although she was included in the shift, Hruby said she didn’t feel that the new company would meet the needs of McBride. She found an insurance company that would work with our clients, and Advantage Insurance opened on December 12, 1995. 

“Being an insurance agent is not something kids grow up wanting to be,” Hruby said. “I did it to help the community and fill a need. I have enjoyed being able to send people on their way with a smile on their face.” 

“I really have enjoyed helping people figure out difficult situations,” she said. “For example, a driver stuck on the side of the road because they forgot their insurance, or it had expired.”

The office not only was a place of work, but it also acted as a community hub. Hruby said people didn’t only come in for insurance purposes,  but also to say hi, share some news or join the staff for coffee, or lunch. 

“I will miss the people,” she said. 

Hruby began feeling the need to retire a few years ago and started looking for someone to take over. Advantage Insurance was sold to Integris in June 2023. It has taken two years for her to step into retirement. 

There are a few things she is really looking forward to in this next phase of life.  One of the most important things is that she will be able to answer her seven grandkids with yes I can when they ask her to do something.

She also wants to do some traveling as well as tackling projects around her house, her long list of other unfinished projects and is looking forward to having time to host gatherings

Lucius looks to the future

Lucius and her husband Joe bought the building that houses Integris Insurance in the mid 80s. 

“We moved to McBride in April 1980, after visiting from Denver the previous July with David and Rosemary,” she said. 

They came to view a farm they had seen advertised in the Denver newspaper. That farm did not pan out but they fell in love with the area and found a home on Hinkleman. 

After their move, SEARS contacted them and shortly they took over running the SEARS depot from the Kolidas. After bouncing around to a few locations,  they secured the spot on Main Street.

In 1989 they expanded to include a women’s clothing store, The Rose Garden Boutique. Rosemary’s Desk ran out of a side room, and then in 1995 Advantage Insurance was born. Eleven years later, Advantage had grown so much, the Lucius’ closed their businesses and with some renovations, provided their daughter Rosemary with the whole building to use. 

Lucius used the next decade to travel with her husband, work their farm and spend time with family. 

Following Joe’s passing in 2016, she needed a way to keep busy so she returned to the office, volunteering her time as administrative help. 

“When we first moved here, SEARS gave me a way of meeting everybody,” she said. “Everyone picked up packages.” 

Rose Garden and Advantage continued to give her a social link into the community.

“I am going to miss seeing all the people who came in,” said Lucius. “Most people who came in said hi, or popped in to visit.”

She has already started working on finding a new spot within the community that fills her social needs and fits her personality. Over the years, she served countless lunches to grandkids, great grandkids and assorted others out of the back room. She says she will miss that, but expects to see some of them show up at her house lunch periodically.  

“Guess I’ll have to keep my fridge stocked,” she joked. 

In this new phase of retirement,  Lucius plans to spend more time with family. She is one of nine kids and has seven sisters that she still visits with as often as possible. 

She also hopes she can finally tackle her 45 year old to-do list.