Tim Mannos

Many post office customers recall Tim Mannos as the “unofficial” U.S. Postal Service greeter! Tim joined the military in 1972, and after serving two years of active duty in the Navy Reserves during the Vietnam War, he returned to civilian life in his wife’s home area.  Tim was from Wilmette, Illinois, and had met his wife while attending college at Eastern Illinois University.  He previously had experience delivering mail in Winnetka and decided to look for a postal job in the central Illinois area.  Washington had an opening for a substitute carrier and was hired in 1974. Tim was a mail carrier for a couple of years and then took a position as a clerk where he could have more person-to-person contact.  Tim always looked forward to chatting with his customers and learning about them and their families.  For many years, he served as “Santa Claus” in Washington, answering every child’s Santa letters on his own time and at his own expense until his retirement in 2004.

Tim never drove to work; he always walked or rode his bicycle.  The weather was not an issue for him.  Kids along his way to work always said hello, and he sometimes interacted with them for a few minutes.  Coming from a large metropolitan area, he loved Washington’s small-town atmosphere.  Tim brightened people’s lives by being friendly and caring, and we are grateful for that.