Going Postal?

[conlor]

"She's been hassled about how she dresses for as long as I've known her and she doesn't care, she's just Donna," said Dan Gotham, who's worked with Donna Lewis for the past 11 years. Gotham wore a pair of floral pattern women's pants rolled to a capri style in honor of Donna's last day at the post office Friday.

For decades, Donna Lewis has stood out in a sea of blue uniformity — she adorned herself almost daily with bright colors such as lime green and sunshine yellow, complete with a sparkly pin or an appliqué sweater.

So what did she wear on her last day on Friday at the Rodd Street office of the United States Post Office? A navy blue shirt and pants.

"I thought it was going to be a quiet day," she said. "I was going to come in and sneak out."

Lewis is retiring after 29 years with the Post Office. She started in 1980 in Saginaw's central forwarding office. She transferred to the training department as a training technician, and was soon promoted to the department's manager.

She came to the Midland Post Office in 1989, and has worked in delivery and customer services ever since. She retires as supervisor of customer services.

"I love working in Midland," Lewis said. "I like the people. We have very good employees.

"I get emotional," she said, blinking back tears. "I'm going to miss them."

She might have wanted her last day to be quiet, but her co-workers had different plans. At her desk was a bouquet of lime green, yellow and burnt red flowers. Many of the postal carriers, wearing bright Hawaiian shirts, bantered back and forth as they sorted the morning mail.

"You can sum (her) up in one word — Shipshewana," one carrier yelled.

That was a not-so-subtle reference to Lewis's love of shopping and finding a good bargain. Her fellow workers often asked her advice on what type of gift to get for a spouse or child, and she often went out on the hunt during her lunch hour.


Her co-worker and friend, Sandy Carey, walked over to give Lewis a congratulatory hug.

"I told her I didn't want anything," Lewis said, shaking her finger at Carey. Carey pretended not to hear, cocking her head to one side.


"We love her," Carey said. "We work great together. She's a lot of fun."

Carey became quiet at first when asked what work without Lewis would be like.
"Oh God, awful. I don't know what we're going to do without her," she said. "She's dedicated. She's loyal."


And she almost always comes into work —she accumulated more than a year of sick leave to add to her retirement time.
"One more day to order me around," a carrier yelled out.

For article and pictures:
Midland Daily News - A colorful transition

[Woodmonkey]

A good story