CLEVELAND — When Deedre Noble-Cuthbertson took a job at the post office in Cleveland, her top boss was a young, first-term president from Arkansas named William Jefferson Clinton.

Thirty-two years later, Noble-Cuthbertson is turning in her post office keys, but she is leaving behind a legacy of love, care and service.

“I did not know what I wanted to do after high school,” said the West Rowan High School grad. “My mom spoke to the postmaster in Mocksville and he told her what I needed to do. I took the test and got an interview with Cleveland. I started the Friday after Thanksgiving in 1993.”

Without so much as a breath of hesitation, Noble-Cuthbertson said she would miss the people the most.

“I am going to miss taking care of them,” she said.

An attention to detail and a willingness to go above and beyond defined Noble-Cuthbertson’s tenure. An elderly man with a PO box had trouble getting in and out of the downtown Cleveland office, so when Noble-Cuthbertson saw him coming, she would take him his mail so he did not have to get out of the car.

“I would come get their mail and take it to them,” she said.

Art Brown, a longtime employee at the Salisbury post office, confirmed that account and others.

“She’d been in here working and there was an elderly fella who would come up in his car,” Brown said. “He was slow getting out. If there was no one in here, she’d go grab his mail and take it out to him.”

Brown added that Noble-Cuthbertson’s dedication was truly special.

“This is an example of not being just a post office, but a postal service,” Brown said.

It is not just the customers that Noble-Cuthbertson will remember. When you work alongside people as long as she has, it is easy to develop familiar bonds.

“Oh yeah, I will miss my co-workers,” she said, describing them like family. “Especially the ones who have been here as long as I have. Another came like 10 years after. We have been like a family.”

Those bonds extended beyond the post office walls and into the Cleveland community, where she was born, raised and has lived all this time.

“Her boys were coached by my husband, Mike,” said Dicy McCullough, who used to be a contributor at the Salisbury Post.

In a way, McCullough described Noble-Cuthbertson as a ray of sunshine on an otherwise cloudy day.

“Anytime you came into the post office, she had a smile, you know, what can I do to help you,” she said. “She was more than an employee at the post office. She was your friend and you just knew that if you were down that day, or something happened that morning, you would come in here and she would lift you up. That is the gist of who Deedre is.

“We are totally going to miss her, but I am so happy for her and excited to see what is in store for her and what direction the Lord is going to lead her.”

So what is in store?

Noble-Cuthbertson has some new grandchildren she is looking forward to spending time with and while she has not booked the trip yet, she said she is eager to do some traveling.

No matter what lies ahead, her service will always matter to her.

“It has meant a lot because I have always strived to treat people the way I want to be treated,” Noble-Cuthbertson said. “As a whole, the community has just been so good to me. I have tried to do the same and be good to them.”