After 65 years of service, a postal worker in Cedar Rapids is retiring

Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Ernest “Ernie” Topness, a postmaster in Cedar Rapids who has been delivering mail to his town for 65 years, is retiring this year at the age of 91.

In the beginning of this year, he was honored with a ceremony that acknowledged him as the second-longest tenured letter carrier in the nation.

On Friday, a surprise was waiting for him on his final journey. It was a thank you from old friends, such as Craig Kroupa, who has known Topness for decades. As far as Kroupa is concerned, his father was also a mail carrier. “He is very remarkable. It is Kroupa who describes him as “a very special man.” “It was a blessing from heaven when Ernie became my mailman because Ernie is the person who comes the closest to modeling himself after my father.”

Ernie achieved a total of 5,500 hours of sick leave in the year 2020. For the United States Postal Service, this equates to almost two and a half years of sick leave, which will be added to his retirement benefits.

Beginning in the 1950s, each and every one of those years was spent in Cedar Rapids. His daughter Pati Williams adds that he has created tremendous relationships throughout his community and that these relationships are something that can be seen in everyday life. It was one day when we went out to lunch, and all of a sudden, this one guy bought us lunch. Williams exclaims, “He’s like, ohh Ernie right now!”

Williams asserts that her father established a great example for her to follow when she was growing up by working three separate jobs at the same time. Every single day, he was present. According to Williams, he very rarely made a phone call. “I mean, even when it was snowing, he would show up when the young people called in,” she said.

While carrying mail for the final time, Topness reports that he was greeted with a number of heartfelt farewells.

“Wow, today has been a wonderful day. Topness says, “I’ve been out visiting with a lot of different people and I’ve been there visiting.” “I’m going to long for all of these people out here.”

In addition to being a soldier who fought overseas during the Korean War, he stated that he experienced the blessing of having four children and eleven grandkids.

Despite the fact that Ernie has not yet experienced the full impact of retirement, he is prepared for whatever the future holds for him.

“It has been a delight to deliver mail to each and every one of these individuals. All of them are extremely warm and welcoming,” adds Topness.