Floyd Martin, a retired USPS mailman from Marietta, Georgia
Marietta, GA — Floyd Martin, a mailman since 1985 who has worked the same route in Marietta, Georgia for the last 20 years, is so well-loved by the people along his route that when he decided to retire last summer, the neighborhood surprised him with a party and even helped him raise funds for his dream vacation!
After nearly 35 years working as a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service, Martin decided to retire and Thursday last week was his last day. Neighbor Jennifer Brett, who is a reporter with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, shared Martin’s story on a Twitter thread as she followed along with his final deliveries.
That day, the mailboxes on his route were decorated with tributes for “Mr. Floyd” and the people said their warm goodbyes. “When we met Floyd, it was like he was an old friend,” one neighbor said. Another said, “He always had a smile, always had a wave.”
Martin was well-loved even by the kids who always waited for his arrival with lollipops for them and that includes Mae Bullington, who dressed up as him for her school’s career day. “I was so flattered,” he said. “It touched my heart.” The cats and dogs, whom he gives treats, were very fond of him as well.
When the neighbors found out Martin hopes to go to Hawaii one day, they set up a GoFundMe page to help make his dream come true. It has raised over $32,000 in just 2 days.
“There was a fullfledged effort to make sure he knew how much everyone loved him,” wrote neighbors on the GoFundMe page. “To say that he would be missed would prove to be a complete understatement.”
Martin, who lives in Atlanta with his dog Gigi, doesn’t have children. But he has “500+ houses worth of kids he spends 6+ hours with every day,” Brett said in a tweet.
At the end of the day, neighbors threw a send-off party for Martin which was attended by over 350 people of all ages.
“Thank you for caring about me,” he told the crowd. “We’ve gone through good times and bad times together. You were there when I needed you, even if you didn’t know it. I love you guys, that’s what the world needs more of, loving and caring and compassion and taking care of one another.”
“Continue to take care of each other, and smile when you think of me.”