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“I’m speechless,” Mrs. Nobles remarked. “Usually, in this town, if you have a secret, it doesn’t last for long. I can say tonight that this secret had not gotten out. Thank you all. Thank you to the person that nominated me, to the committee, and to the Lyons Lions Club.” She continued, “I’d just like to say I came to Lyons, and I had dark hair, I was slim, and I was not married. But I came and thought, ‘Well, I’m here, what do I do?’ The people of Lyons, Georgia, took me in. They made me what I am today. I want to thank everyone in Lyons for helping me accomplish the goals I wanted to achieve, and for following me and what I have done.” “I will not stop doing what I have been doing. I love the blood drive, I love the hospice house in Vidalia, I love the Mercy Clinic, and many, many more programs. I will continue to work in these things as long as God gives me the health to do it.” Mrs. Nobles was born in Gross-Mercer Hospital in Vidalia, and began life on a farm in Ailey. Her mother was a teacher at a one-room schoolhouse and her father worked the fields as a farmer. When she was 10 years old, Mrs. Nobles’ mother passed away. Her father never remarried, and she was brought up by her grandparents. She completed her education at a small school in the Kibbee community and graduated in 1963 from Mount Vernon High School. During her high school years, she played basketball on the state championship basketball team and served as the senior class president.
Following high school, Mrs. Nobles attended Brewton-Parker College, then transferred to the University of Georgia (UGA). In January, after her college graduation, she began working for the UGA Extension Service in a neighboring county. Having excelled in this position, Mrs. Nobles was soon offered the extension agent position in either Effingham or Toombs County, and accepted the job at Toombs County.
“God was working hard on this decision, because she was required to live in the county she chose,” Rollins explained. “So she moved to Lyons and immediately got to work in the Toombs County Extension Office. In her job, she touched many, many young people’s lives in her work with the 4-H Club. That’s when I met this young lady at my ripe age of 15.”
Rollins added that the Nobles married in 1971. They now have two children and four grandchildren.
“To say that Lucretia is involved in the community is quite an understatement,” Rollins emphasized. “It is impossible to imagine our community without her presence.” According to Rollins, Mrs. Nobles has been involved in all aspects of Toombs County life since 1968, including school committees, Halloween festivals, Christmas parades, athletic and band boosters, and more. She is a member of the Beta Sigma Phi sorority, and was their 1987 Lady of the Year. She also helped to organize the local leadership class, now known as Leadership Toombs. Because her husband was an employee of the U.S. Postal Service, she became involved in the Lettercarriers Auxiliary. She has held every office on the state and national levels of the Georgia Rural Lettercarriers Auxiliary, which has over 5,000 members, and the National Rural Carriers Auxiliary, which has over 100,000 members. She has also coordinated 83 blood drives in 14 years as the cochair of the community Red Cross Blood Drive in Lyons. She is a member of the local chapter of the National Association of Active and Retired Federal employees, and has held every office in the organization.
Event emcee Christian Burton commented on the occasion and the people of the community. “This community is more than onions, it’s about people, and that is what is so incredible,” he explained.
