GREENSBORO, NC (AP) — A North Carolina man who reached his 100th birthday has been celebrated by the elementary school students he helps get through morning traffic and safely to class.
Students at Peck Elementary School marked the milestone birthday for Thomas Faucette on Wednesday with hand-decorated birthday hats and two-dimensional construction paper candles, the News & Record of Greensboro reported. Faucette also accepted a plaque from Greensboro Police Chief Brian James in appreciation for his service with the department.
Faucette grew up in Greensboro, played football at Dudley High School, moved to Washington, D.C., and served in France and Germany in the U.S. Army in World War II. He took a job with the Federal Trade Commission and moved back to Greensboro to care for his ailing mother while working for the U.S. Postal Service.
After retiring from the post office in 1986, Faucette began a part-time career as a crossing guard in Greensboro, joining the police department in 1988.
When school is in session, Faucette watches arrivals and departures from a lawn chair. Before the pandemic, he would cross about 10 students on a typical day. His wife says it’s down to between one and six.