IRON MOUNTAIN After 40 years of federal service, Deb Bidwell of Quinnesec retired from the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center in Iron Mountain on Sept. 25.

Bidwell was born in Iron Mountain,and raised in Niagara, Wis. She is the daughter of Ted Rumpf and Claire Barbeau. She graduated from Niagara High School in 1973.

Bidwell joined the U.S. Air Force on Aug. 16, 1974 and retired 20 years later on Feb. 1, 1994.

She started her VA career on in December 1994 at the Iron Mountain VA Medical Center.

Bidwell worked in various areas during her tenure at the medical center, most recently as Administrative Officer of the Day (AOD) from 2009 to present. She also has volunteered the last two years as a driver for the Veteran Transportation Service taking VA patients to and from their VA appointments. This is something that she said she plans to continue to do in her retirement.