Lisa Carnley is managing editor of the Lampasas Dispatch Record. I can't recall in the almost 24 years I have known and worked with Shirley McNiel ever having seen her mad. And I'll bet anyone who knows her can't either.

Shirley, who has been with the Lampasas Dispatch Record for 34 years, is retiring at the end of this month.

She will be sorely missed, even though her newspaper family has given her a hard time over the years because of her constant cheerfulness.

Shirley comes to work every day with a big smile on her face and announces to everyone around her: "Good morning!"

Our typical response: "Cheer up, Shirley."

While most of us are still trying to wake up at 8 a.m., Shirley has been up for several hours, having read her Bible and enjoyed coffee on her porch with her cousin, Susie.

I don't believe there's a daybreak Shirley has missed in all her adult life, and I doubt there's been a day when she didn't greet the morning with a big smile and her colleagues with a big hug and a word of encouragement.

Yes, Shirley will be missed.

She is truly a rarity on this planet. Those who have her constant bright attitude and cheerfulness are few and far between. When most of us are thinking about the economy, the price of gas or the cost of groceries, Shirley's mind whirls with ideas of what she can do to make others happy.

Even through a serious illness, a broken hip and family tragedy, Shirley remains a staunch believer in the adage: "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."

She spends much of her time driving back and forth to the Austin area to be with her daughters, grandchildren and greatgrandson. She thinks nothing of jumping in her car after a long day of work to fight the traffic and head toward the Capital city to have a bite to eat with her family.

And her homemade biscuits are legendary. Hot from the oven, made from scratch, they are the birthday present everyone at the office hopes to receive on their special day. And she usually doesn't disappoint. She also brings several jars of jelly, sausage and slabs of bacon, and butter for special occasions.

And she makes wonderful cakes, too. Thick with icing, we generally have to search for the cake underneath all the frosting, and that's the way we all like it.

But the best thing about Shirley is that no matter what kind of day we are having, she always brightens it with a big smile, cheery words of encouragement and a giant bear hug. I know that's what I will miss the most after she retires.

Shirley and the Lampasas Dispatch Record have been synonymous for more than three decades, and many of our customers come into the office expressly to see her -- for an eager ear, an open heart and a beaming smile.

We will go on because we have to, but we don't have to like it. There will be a huge void when Shirley shuts off her computer for the last time on Aug. 28.

But if you know Shirley, you know she will leave here -- like any other day -- with a smile on her face and will try to comfort those of us she left behind.

And what can we do? Who can be around Shirley and not end up smiling -- even if it's through our tears?

Not a soul.