Riepe said she started selling Mary Kay products in 1972. Back then, she said, the business was relatively small, making it easy for her to become personally acquainted with Mary Kay Ash. Riepe said she has many fond memories of Ash, who died in November, including many words of wisdom like, "Worry about nothing, but pray about everything."

Riepe, who has driven Mary Kay cars since 1976, including the coveted pink Cadillac, said it was such tidbits of advice that helped her succeed at her chosen trade.

"She was a wonderful person and I still remember everything she told me to be successful," Riepe said. "Maybe I haven't followed all of her ideas, but I've followed most of them and she was right, it did help."

Riepe began selling because the flexible schedule and virtually limitless possibilities for success appealed to her, but she said she has kept at it because, "I have loved every minute of it."

She said she has enjoyed the friends she's made, the camaraderie she shares with other Mary Kay representatives and the recognition she has received for hard work. However, she said, the job itself is so individualized and the possibilities so endless, that it fit perfectly into her life.

"I just don't know where else I could have worked for so few hours, made so many friends, had so much fun and still made as much money as I did," she said. "Mary Kay always said it should be God first, family second and business third. That's just not how it is in any other business."

It's a trade that Riepe took up when no one else in the area sold Mary Kay products, but that all changed when she began hosting parties and recruiting new beauty consultants. Within five years, she achieved the level of director with 30 beauty consultants under her that she personally recruited and trained.

Even though she has loved doing her job, Riepe said it was Mary Kay Ash who has not only provided an opportunity for hundreds of thousands of women, but who gave Riepe, and all the other Mary Kay ladies, the tools they needed for success.

Of course, Riepe knows that one person can not ensure another's success. Working for Mary Kay, she said, is an individualized profession.

"If I were to recruit you, I would not be responsible for your success or your failure," she said. "It is up to each person how far they want to go, but Mary Kay does give a lot of advice and keys to success that make it pretty easy."

Riepe also praised Mary Kay Ash for her generosity and good spirit. Riepe said Ash willed $1 million a year for 15 years to both breast cancer research and programs for battered women. These facts contribute to Riepe's pride at being part of the company.

Her involvement in the company has made pink her signature color. She said she has a large pink mailbox in front of her home so that everyone will notice, and she even uses pink garbage bags.

Riepe said she will continue to be a part of the Mary Kay empire and sell Mary Kay products as long as she possibly can.

"Jimmy O'Donnell asked me when I was going to retire and I said I'd stop when they shut the lid on my casket," Riepe joked, "and I hope I have a pink casket."