HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Willie Stone has spent over 40 years delivering more than just mail along the Pinedale Farms postal route in Henrico County.
"I love what I do, serving the community and serving the people," Stone said.
Stone has made each stop on his route feel less like a transaction and more like a visit from a friend.
"I get a chance to bring spark, to bring life, to bring joy," Stone said.
Neighbors along his route say the feeling is mutual.
"He makes you feel like you're not a stranger," one neighbor said.
Carla Thompson, who lives on Stone's route, said his presence has become something far more personal over the years.
"He is really part of the family, we just consider him that way," Thompson said.
Stone says that sense of family is exactly what he believes a community should be.
"I think that's what the community should be like. We should love each other, take care of each other, and protect each other," Stone said.
Steve Samuel, another neighbor on the route, put it simply.
"He's the mail man of the century!" Samuel said.
Stone says the bond runs both ways.
"The feeling is mutual because you get a bond after years of seeing people everyday. Just greeting one another, and encouraging each other," Stone said.
For Stone, each stop is an opportunity to slow down and connect.
"Each hug shows that you care, and they can feel that. That's more than anything," Stone said.
But eight months ago, Stone found himself on the receiving end of devastating news. He became ill while on the job.
"I was at work and I got sick. I was throwing up, and I got weak, and I went to the hospital," Stone said.
Doctors delivered a diagnosis that would change everything.
"They said, 'we think it's cancer.' It came back, and it was cancer," Stone said. "Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma ... a rare type of cancer."
Treatment kept Stone away from the route he loved for more than six months. The neighbors who had come to count on his daily visits took notice, sending well wishes that Stone says he felt throughout his recovery.
Adrienne Feldman, a neighbor on Stone's route, watched him face the diagnosis with characteristic grace.
"He's just been through so much with being sick and going through chemo treatment, and yet he still has the most positive outlook and only words of positivity and light to share with everybody," Feldman said.
Stone drew strength from the support around him.
"Just don't give up, don't quit. They said, 'I'm giving you back what you give us,'" Stone said.
After more than six months away, Stone reached remission and rang a ceremonial bell — a milestone moment he celebrated before returning to the community that had been waiting for him.
When Stone finally got back behind the wheel of his mail truck, the Pinedale Farms neighborhood was ready. Mailbox after mailbox and yard sign after yard sign carried messages of welcome along his entire route.
"They touched me in a way that you can't even put into words," Stone said.
The outpouring of love moved even the steadfast Stone to tears.
"That's what we need out here more than anything," Stone said. "We still need to show one another that people still matter and care."
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