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Politics

Longtime Tierrasanta Mail Carrier Saluted After His Final Deliveries

Newly retired mail carrier John Piontek poses for pictures at his retirement party at Tierrasanta Elementary School on June 30, 2021.
John Carroll
Newly retired mail carrier John Piontek poses for pictures at his retirement party at Tierrasanta Elementary School on June 30, 2021.

“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” That’s the unofficial motto of the United States Postal Service.

In Tierrasanta, one of those couriers finished the last of his appointed rounds on Wednesday, and the neighborhood sent him off in style.

A well-wisher signs a photo poster of retired mail carrier John Piontek in his uniform. Photo taken June 30, 2021.
Guillermo Sevilla
A well-wisher signs a photo poster of retired mail carrier John Piontek in his uniform. Photo taken June 30, 2021.

John Piontek has delivered the mail to the Villa Barbados neighborhood since 1992 — 29 years of service, and friendships.

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“I’m 73 now and I was only in my 40’s when he started on my block and so I’ve watched him age and he’s definitely watched me age,” said resident Tammie Wilson.

Longtime Tierrasanta Mail Carrier Saluted After His Final Deliveries
Listen to this story by John Carroll.

“He’s been to weddings, funerals, graduations, parties, birthdays,” said resident Janet Martin.

When the neighborhood heard about his upcoming retirement, Martin got on the NextDoor app and began arranging the celebration for his last day.

A cake is decorated with the word "GOLF" at a Tierrasanta retirement party for letter carrier John Piontek on June 30, 2021.
Guillermo Sevilla
A cake is decorated with the word "GOLF" at a Tierrasanta retirement party for letter carrier John Piontek on June 30, 2021.

You might say delivering the mail is part of Piontek’s DNA.

“My grandfather retired from the Postal Service back in Buffalo, New York,” he said.

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Piontek will still be doing plenty of walking in his retirement, but on the golf course rather than on a mail route.

Newly retired letter carrier John Piontek shows a picture of his grandfather, who was also a letter carrier, at a retirement party in Tierrasanta on June 30, 2021.
Guillermo Sevilla
Newly retired letter carrier John Piontek shows a picture of his grandfather, who was also a letter carrier, at a retirement party in Tierrasanta on June 30, 2021.

He retires with warm thoughts of the longtime customers who became friends.

They’re my family, they’re my friends,” Piontek said, “And (I) hold ‘em deep in my heart, it’s great.”

Retired mail carrier John Piontek hugs a friend at his retirement party at Tierrasanta Elementary School on June 30, 2021.
John Carroll
Retired mail carrier John Piontek hugs a friend at his retirement party at Tierrasanta Elementary School on June 30, 2021.
Video: Longtime Tierrasanta Mail Carrier Saluted After His Final Deliveries