You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who knows more about Cessnock's weather than Rae Clifford.
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Mrs Clifford - who recorded local weather data for the Bureau of Meteorology for almost 40 years - passed away on August 24, aged 88.
Mrs Clifford and her late husband Harry (who died in 2009) were well-known in the Nulkaba community, where they ran the local general store, service station and post office agency from 1973 to 2000.
The couple took over the business from Mr Clifford's parents, and Mrs Clifford also proudly took on the role of weather recorder, which her mother-in-law had done for some years beforehand.
She was highly dedicated to the role, which required her to record the rainfall, temperature, wind speed and direction, water evaporation and cloud level at 9am and 3pm every day except for Christmas Day.
Mr and Mrs Clifford retired from the shop in 2000, but she would continue to record the weather until August 31, 2012, when changes to the bureau's automatic station at Cessnock Airport means her readings were no longer required.
In an interview with the Advertiser on her final day in the role, Mrs Clifford - then 79 - said while she thoroughly enjoyed the responsibility over the years, she was looking forward to the freedom.
And enjoy her freedom she did - taking trips all over Australia and to Hawaii, and even taking a ride on a Harley Davidson on her 80th birthday.
Mrs Clifford continued to live at her Nulkaba home until 2015 when she moved to RFBI Cessnock Masonic Village, where she was a much-loved resident, known for her sense of humour and beautiful singing.
At her funeral on Friday, Mrs Clifford was remembered as a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother with a strong work ethic, and who would talk to anyone.
Her son Chris said his mother had an "amazing life".
"Being in that shop and being such diligent workers - they worked seven days a week, for such long hours - that laid the foundations for how we are," he said.
"They always provided for us, they always loved us, we always knew that they were there for us."
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