By CLARA CARTRETTE

Audrey Mae Cullifer, my friend and co-worker for the past 45 years, died 10 days ago, leaving a void in the lives of those who knew and loved her.

Although she would have been 93 years old on Nov. 12, Miz Audrey still came to work every Thursday. She began working at The News Reporter back in the 1950s as the bookkeeper, a job she held until she semi-retired several years ago.

The advent of computers and a more modern method of bookkeeping might have played a role in her semi-retirement as she believed in putting in sweat equity the old-fashioned way…with a pencil and a ledger.

I have said many times that if I had enough money to manage, I would want Audrey Mae Cullifer in charge of it.

She still came to work every Thursday to do bookkeeping for our bosses, Jim and Les High. It was always a pleasure to see her come in and have lunch with us on her workday.

Miz Audrey was a stickler for details. There was no such thing as putting in a penny or two or taking out a penny or two if her numbers didn’t balance. She was relentless; just a few weeks ago she was a penny off, and it took her a long time, but she endured until she found that penny mistake.

She was not only meticulous about her work; she was meticulous about everything she dealt with.

As her pastor said at her funeral, “She wanted things right.” She was a phenomenal housekeeper, so much so that I told her one time: “Miz Audrey, your kitchen floor is probably cleaner than dishes I’ve just washed.”

Miz Audrey was also a stickler about her clothing, her hair, her make-up and her car. Everything had to be clean and coordinated. Once in a while it fell my lot to drive to lunch, and I was always a little embarrassed to have to move newspapers, coffee cups, coats and whatever from the front seat, to say nothing about the dirty floor mats and dust on the dashboard.

Her floor mats were always spotless, even when she took her car to be washed; she kept them covered with paper.

What a legacy Miz Audrey leaves. She had an unbelievable work ethic. Even as a once-a-week employee, she worried about getting to work on time, and heaven forbid she had to miss a Thursday. A few months ago she ended up in the hospital on a Wednesday and hounded her doctor about getting out in time to come to work the next morning. She didn’t win that debate but she gave a good argument.

Miz Audrey was a good conversationalist, but there was one subject she didn’t talk about — her age. People who went to church with her at First Baptist noticed for years that she would sit down when age 80 was mentioned on Mother’s Day when the church sought to honor the oldest mother in attendance.

For years her daughter Jackie tried to get Miz Audrey to live with her family in Moore County, but with no success. “My friends are here,” she often said.

She admitted to being a little stubborn, and it was because she wanted things done the right way. The day before she died, her granddaughter Lauren was attempting to get her to eat. Lauren told Miz Audrey that she was stubborn, then confessed that she was also stubborn and probably got it from her grandmother.

Miz Audrey had a keen sense of humor and enjoyed a good joke. Her office was in the conference room where staff meetings are held on press days. While she continued working as we talked, she would burst out laughing when someone, usually staff comedian Fuller Royal, would say something funny.

Our newest reporter, Jeff Weaver, said it was amazing how focused Miz Audrey was at her work when our staff meetings were so noisy.

She didn’t talk about it much, but it was known that Miz Audrey wanted to go out of this world peacefully.

That she did, and she did everything she thought she was supposed to do before she went. She came to work on Thursday and went to lunch with us. On Friday she saw her doctor who put her in the hospital.

But thank God, there was no long, drawn out stay in a hospital bed hooked up to tubes. She awoke around 4 a.m. on Monday to go to the bathroom. When she got back into bed, she just stopped breathing.

Ever true to The News Reporter, she died on deadline in time to get her obituary in Monday’s paper.

We miss her on Thursdays, but we are secure in knowing that she’s up there in heaven looking down on all of us working at The News Reporter.

Several co-workers recalled events involving Miz Audrey.

Barbara Dove was amused that Miz Audrey attempted to play matchmaker for her granddaughter and The News Reporter’s intern, Jake Potter, last summer. She thought he was nice and nice looking and thought it would be nice if he and Lauren could meet.

Bob High said he was typing a crime story on a small table behind circulation manager Grace Jordan in 1954 or 1955 when he mischievously asked, “Grace, how many Zs are there in policeman?”

“Bob, you’re crazy,” said Miz Audrey who was working nearby.

“You spell policeman ‘fuzz,’ don’t you?” Bob joked.

Laurie Griffin recalls that her son Ibony did yard work for Miz Audrey, who said “He’s the best straw man I’ve ever had.”

Mickey Greer noted how immaculate Miz Audrey’s car was and how she always took time to inquire about his family.

Les High recalls her accuracy in keeping up with money. He once took his deposit to the bank and was told it was 15 cents off. He returned and reported it to Miz Audrey who said, “You let me take care of this.” She went to the bank and soon returned stating, “I showed her (the bank clerk) that what I had was right.”

Jay Hefner recalled that the newspaper’s first computer was for payroll and he helped Miz Audrey because she wasn’t sold on computers.

“That night she took the information home and refigured all the checks by hand,” he said. “The next day she said the computer did alright that time, but she’d have to check it again next week to make sure it worked right. She said she didn’t see how it was going to save much time having to do it twice.” She just didn’t trust machines.

“Our church recognizes the oldest mother on Mother’s Day,” Fuller Royal said. “But you didn’t see Mrs. Cullifer there because she was afraid Mrs. Mary Hooks wouldn’t be there and she would be the oldest mother. Mrs. Cullifer was ‘old school proper.’ She always set a good example and her appearance was very important to her.”

Dean Lewis had the funniest recollection. Several years ago when a heavy snow and ice storm socked in a lot of employees, Dean was sent out to bring them to work in his four-wheel drive.

He stopped off at Ward’s Grill to get lunch for everyone and picked Miz Audrey up. As they got near the office, the vehicle started spinning around.

“She was saying, ‘ooohhh, ooohhh, ooohhh,’ and she like to squeezed the hot dogs to death,” Dean said with a laugh. “When we got to the office she said, ‘Don’t you ever send him after me again. I’ll never ride with him again!’”

So The News Reporter says goodbye to its oldest and longest tenured employee as Miz Audrey goes to a better place. If God has a ledger up there, He’s probably put Miz Audrey in charge, knowing that she would keep it accurately.