The "Lancaster Loses Longtime Postman" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  The headline in the Lancaster Newspaper had caught my eye which read... 'LIKE A BROTHER'... and highlighted the accomplishments of a man named Timothy Healy who for 37 years delivered mail to the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  A few days before, Timothy had died at the age of 60 at Hershey Medical Center.  Seems his family was overwhelmed by the support that the Postal Service gave to Timothy when about 40 postal trucks constantly sounded the horns of their postal trucks as they circled around the Lancaster Carrier Annex Post Office in Manheim Township.  Some of the postal trucks carried passengers who waved the Irish flag in recognition of Timothy's native Ireland while other were decorated with the colors of Ireland.  Timothy's daughter, Meghan Healy was proud of her father and his service to the Postal Service and was overwhelmed with the show of post trucks in the parade.  

Photograph of Timothy taken at the U.Sl Post Office taken by daughter Meghan Healy

Timothy had worked for the United States Postal Service for close to 13 years in Brooklyn before moving to Manheim and working for 24 years in Lancaster County.  It was during his 30th year that he received the Million Mile Award for having no vehicle accidents throughout his career.  Timothy retired in August of 2020 and was almost certain that he had set foot on every front porch in the city of Lancaster during his tenure in the city.  During that time he had touched so many people throughout the city.  One of his co-workers, Joe Day, reported that Timothy was "like a bother to me.  Good friends are hard to come by and he was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of friend.  He was a good worker and everyone liked him."  Timothy had been retired for over a year when he died and quite a number of his co-workers showed up for his funeral.  Letter carrier Joe said, "He'll be really missed."  Timothy's son Timothy Healy Jr., of Elizabethtown, and his nephew Ralph Strazza of Manheim Township, both work for the Post Office and will now have to carry Timothy's legacy forward.  Both had the chance to work with Timothy for a few years before he retired.  Not only was Timothy a postman, he was a bull rider and a New York City marathon runner.  One of the sentences in Timothy's obituary read "His energy was larger than life itself!"  

Timothy Healey

Megan  said that "throughout the years, as a little kid, I always remember my dad being the first person there to help anyone.  I think that was something that really showed the kind of person he was.  I hope that people can take his big heart and find that within themselves and show it to other people."  Timothy will most certainly be missed by both friends and family as well as his previous postal workers and those to whom he delivered mail to all his life."  Certainly a job well done to a true and loyal servant of the postal department.  And...we all know how important mail carriers are to our existence,  When our daily mail is not on time, it ruins you day.  Thanks, Timothy for your service to everyone.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

A Postal truck with a poster remembering Timothy