An elderly Texas woman who recently retired after nearly 74 years working in retail is receiving praise for her grit and dedication.
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But it’s what 90-year-old Melba Mebane of Tyler, Texas, said to young people that adds to the wonderful story. When asked to advise those just starting in the business, she encouraged people to be faithful.
“Come to work, never see it as a paycheck,” she told Fox News. “Stay where God planted you.”
And that’s advice Mebane seems to have followed throughout her seven decades working in sales for the Dillard’s department store.
Her stunning career that began in 1949, when she operated the elevator and extended through her official retirement last month. Mebane made a lasting impact on many lives throughout the decades, spending most of her time selling cosmetics for the store.
James Saenz, who manages her Dillard’s branch, told Fox his former employee set the “tone for everything, every expectation, every customer service quality.”
“She provides all of it to the team,” he said. “Can you imagine how many people she coached and taught and trained to aspire to be more? It’s just amazing to think of how many people’s lives she touched.”
He went on to call Mebane — a single mom who never called in sick or missed work — far more than a mere employee, explaining she’s “amazing” and has offered guidance to so many over the years.
Others agree. Drue Dillard Matheny, vice-president of Dillard’s, has long known Mebane, and praised her for her kindness and good-heartedness.
“She is the happiest, most ‘up’ person — gives so much service to the community,” Metheny told KLTV-TV. “She’s made so many friends. I would come watch her in cosmetics and just go, ‘I wish I could be like that,’ because she was incredible with people. Still is.”
Mebane’s passion for her job and love of others was also noticeable to people outside the company. Manufacturers were so impressed with her passion for sales they would send her perfume bottles and samples, which she shared with others.
Her son, Terry Mebane, told Fox News his mom’s work ethic was impressive — and so was her generosity when it came to those samples.
“Our pastor called her the cosmetic bootlegger, because, on the way out of church, she would hand him samples as he was taking her hand and telling her to have a good day,” Terry Mebane said. “She loved getting him ‘fixed up.'”
As for Melba Mebane, her advice is sound: God can use you wherever He places you. And judging from her life and the legacy she left behind, she lived out that belief to the fullest.
Now, she plans to travel, rest, and enjoy her life.
Read more about Mebane’s story here.
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