Numerous studies have shown that people exhibiting higher levels of altruism and social connectedness tend to be happier. Needham postal carrier Gerry MacIsaac is a living example of it.
This is no ordinary mail carrier. “Gerry is a connector of people,” said Jeff Mathias of Gayland Road.
“I consider him a generational mail carrier,” declared Michael Retzky of Laurel Drive.
The belief is widespread among the cluster of roads behind Needham Junction that comprise Postal Route 4, MacIsaac’s territory for 37 years.
“He calls the people on his route ‘his customers,'” Retzky said.
MacIsaac’s generosity and concern for his “customers” are legendary. He once found a man from his route with dementia who was lost. He helped police enter a house where an elderly woman had fallen (he had the entry code to the garage), and offered to stay with an elderly couple to help a man who was dying of cancer. In another case, he took a recently widowed customer out for dinner on her birthday.
Elderly customers even leave jars for him to open.
“I get more joy out of helping others than anything,” he said.
Asked to describe his approach to his job, MacIsaac said, “Most of it is keeping an eye out for people, especially the elderly. I tend to check in on them all the time.”
MacIsaac knows who lives alone on his route, who needs assistance, and who could just use a chat. “He always arrives with a smile and a wave,” according to Mathias.
“I think I’ve seen him in a bad mood, maybe twice,” claimed longtime Needham Post Office colleague Brian Senior.
MacIsaac is a regular at block parties, graduation parties and christenings. He has appeared in surprise birthday videos and helped customers secure luxury box sports tickets. He connected the fact that one customer was flying to Europe while another would be a flight attendant on the same flight. The flier was upgraded to first class.
“I remember when Gerry got his first cellphone,” said Courtney Wolf of Laurel Drive. “You’d always hear him coming because he’s always talking to his sisters and his friends. No one has a voice or a laugh like Gerry’s.”
MacIsaac’s voice is high pitched, high volume and laden with a classic Boston accent. “It’s like the cousin from Boston on the ‘Sam Adams’ commercial,” Retzky said.
The dogs on MacIsaac’s route yearn for his visit. They salivate for his daily delivery of a Milk Bone dog biscuit. Many of his customers leave their front doors unlocked so MacIsaac can deliver the treat in person and let the dog out for a little fresh air. He goes through three 10-pound bags of dog biscuits every week.
On May 1, MacIsaac received the Book of Golden Deeds Award from the Needham Exchange Club. It is awarded to someone who has shown a “history of selfless contribution and dedication to the Needham community.” MacIsaac, who lives in Roslindale, is only the second non-Needham resident to win the award in its 65-year history.
Senior said MacIsaac is the only person in the office who can be counted on to finish any route when a carrier has to go home sick. Over the years, he has delivered to just about every address in Needham.
It’s not usual for MacIsaac to be delivering mail at 8 or 9 p.m. Route 4 is characterized by steep staircases and relentless hills, and Senior said he could have switched to an easier route long ago.
“I could have picked a route where I sit in the truck and just put my hand out the window,” MacIsaac said. “But the relationships are too important.”
“No one enjoys life as much as Gerry,” said Senior, “but sometimes it’s tough being his colleague. When I give the dogs on my route puny-sized treats, they all look at me and say that the dogs in Route 4 are getting much more.”
“Gerry has been a mainstay in this neighborhood,” said Courtney Wolf, who grew up on Laurel Drive and recently bought a home there. “He has been a consistent presence.”
According to Wolf and others, MacIsaac is ultra-conscientious about his work and knows when special letters or packages are coming. Wolf said he knew when her college acceptance letters were arriving.
Wolf, 35, remembers that MacIsaac always stopped to talk to her and her friends when she was growing up, and that relationship deepened as she got older. When she got married, he and his wife were wedding guests. When she came home with her first baby, he was there to greet the next generation of postal customers.
Pam Barker of Laurel Drive said that before the advent of direct deposit, MacIsaac would make a point of letting them know when pay checks arrived.
Postal regulations allow carriers to not deliver to customers who do not remove ice or snow from the path. MacIsaac has never missed a delivery. “I just take it slow,” he said.
Last January, MacIsaac rented a school bus and filled it with customers he’d invited to his wife’s 60th surprise birthday party at Florian Hall in Dorchester. Mathias said the party was an example of the letter carrier working to bring communities together and trying to make sure that everyone is having a good time.
MacIsaac said that he couldn’t imagine his life without helping others. He said that his parents were the same way. “My father would walk around Jamaica Pond and talk to everyone. He always brought home people having a rough time. My mother always had extra place settings ready.”
MacIsaac grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Roslindale, but never considered that a wealthy suburb like Needham would have anything other than good people.
“I got to know the people here right off the bat,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed Needham.”
The longtime postal worker plans to retire in January. His customers will lose their daily connections with someone who has watched out for them and brightened their days. But MacIsaac said he plans to stay in touch with his customers.
They’ve become real friends.
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