Kingston residents say goodbye to their ‘friend who happened to deliver the mail’

Residents of a Kingston neighbourhood said goodbye to their ‘friend who happened to deliver the mail’ as one person put it.

Chris O’Hearn has delivered mail in Portsmouth Village for the past three years and in that time has developed quite the bond with those who live there.

“He’s been terrific. He’s really part of the community. You see him around, he knows everyone’s name,” Kath Grady said.

Once he had delivered his last letter on Friday, O’Hearn threw an impromptu gathering to say thanks to those who had welcomed him into their little community.

“I thought it would be a good opportunity for these people to get together and celebrate the day, and each other,” O’Hearn said. “Not necessarily me.”

But they did celebrate him, and dozens came out to do so.

“I’m pretty shocked to tell you the truth. I’m afraid I’m going to run out of hot dogs,” he joked. “But no, it’s really heartwarming, I’m very appreciative of it all.”

O’Hearn isn’t done delivering mail, but a restructuring of Kingston’s Canada Post carriers has seen his route shift elsewhere in the city.

Residents say O’Hearn did many thoughtful things which fall outside of the mailman’s creed, like bringing their recycling and garbage bins back from the road if they hadn’t gotten a chance to do it yet, or even picking up prescriptions at a nearby pharmacy for elderly neighbours.

“One time I had a problem with my car, and he asked if there was anything he could do,” resident Winnie MacInnis said. “I thought that was pretty amazing.”