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They made their mark this year

A look at some of the USPS employees who captured headlines

Gaylend “Zee” Zahn, a San Diego letter carrier, delivers mail with help from his friend, Roman Toriello.
Gaylend “Zee” Zahn, a San Diego letter carrier, delivers mail with help from his friend, Roman Toriello.

Each week, Link’s “People” feature turns its attention to interesting employes in the Postal Service.

This year, there was no shortage of subjects.

Consider Gaylend “Zee” Zahn, a San Diego letter carrier who has a special assistant: Roman Toriello, a young man with special needs who enjoys helping Zahn on his route.

Each day, Roman, 16, accompanies Zahn as he makes deliveries in the neighborhood, including opening gates for the carrier.

Zahn said spending time with Roman each day “makes my heart feel good.”

Meanwhile, when another letter carrier — Michelle Kuenn of Grafton, WI — learned that customer Bob Charles was a soon-to-be centenarian, she bought and delivered a birthday card a day — for 100 days — leading up to the big day itself.

Elsewhere, when a funeral procession wended its way through Barboursville, WV, Jaeden Layne, a city carrier assistant, paused in respect.

A passerby was so moved by the young man’s deference that he snapped a photo and posted it on his Facebook page — prompting the post to go viral.

“People” also introduced you to Donald Gates, a Billings, MT, letter carrier who allowed Google to choose his new home, and Ben Noble, a Minneapolis letter carrier who dons a vintage postal uniform to teach newcomers about the Postal Service’s history.

Speaking of history, we told you about Leroy Brown, a Los Angeles general clerk who recently marked 70 years of federal service — 68 of them as a postal employee.

Additionally, we covered a few families with postal ties, including three generations of the Penas, who all work at the Chula Vista, CA, Post Office, and Michelle Almeida and Chris Harris, a mother and son who were sworn in together as postmasters of Kihei and Puunene, respectively, in Hawaii.

Another fascinating familial story involved Jeanette Perry, a Melville, NY, mail handler who beamed with pride when her aunt, Constance Baker Motley, was honored with a Black Heritage stamp this year.

“She was a loving person. I am glad she is finally getting recognized,” Perry said.

Check out the “People” archive for more stories. Got news to share? Email us.