Postal worker retires from 50-year career

Feb. 1—Before carriers arrive at the post office each morning, the mail has to be sorted. By the end of this week, there will be one less person making sure parcels find their way to your mailbox.

After 50 years with the U.S. Postal Service, Bill Funk is retiring.

"It's definitely the people that I will miss," Funk said.

He isn't necessarily excited to leave the job. But, if all goes well, he hopes to be walking the beaches of northern Maui soon.

"A lot of people think it's so odd," Funk said. "Some people hate it and want to get out of here. I'm not really that way."

Funk hadn't really planned on becoming a postal worker. In fact, he went to school to become an accountant. To cover expenses during his college days, he worked 16 hours a week for the Fort Wayne post office — increasing his hours to full-time during the summer and around the holidays.

"Bottom line, I got my associate's degree and I never found a better job," Funk said. "I looked around. I never found a job that would pay me as much or give me the same amount of vacation."

When he started with the U.S. Postal Service, he made $3.83 an hour.

Funk did try accounting for a while, but he was looking for a new job after a week in accounting. He soon found he preferred the physical strain of his post office work over the mental strain of accounting.

Hoping to work in a smaller post office, Funk decided to transfer to the Kokomo office in 1974.

He purchased his first Kokomo house in 1978. It was in Cedar Crest and cost $38,000.

Originally from Rossville, Illinois, Funk moved to Marion, Indiana, as a child. His father, a disabled veteran, worked for the local Veterans Affairs office in Marion.

Funk remembered his father having to take time off from work or lose the vacation time at the end of the year.

"I said 'I'd love to have a job where I'd have to take my leave or lose it,'" Funk said. "I ended up getting one."

The move to the smaller post office brought one of the most difficult tests Funk would ever have to take. In order to work at the Kokomo post office, he explained, he needed to memorize the entire city scheme.

In comparison, Funk said, Fort Wayne's post office split the larger town into different sections.

Going into the Kokomo test, Funk told himself he would buy his dream car if he could pass the exam. He walked away with a position secured at the Kokomo post office and purchased a 1973 Corvette — it was painted gold and had a black leather interior.

Chicks and magazines

Funk works the overnight shift — starting at 11 p.m. and finishing up at 7:30 a.m.

His last Friday on the job was a bit hectic. One employee called out sick, so he had to start his day working on priority mail.

By 6:30 a.m., he was catching up with the task that usually goes first: presorting the outgoing periodicals.

Taking a break from the cluster of cardboard gaylord boxes filled with Allrecipies magazines and subscription advertisements for Southern Living, he walked through the sorting floor and stopped by a stack of six chirping boxes.

Each of the boxes held chicks, which were en route to Rural King.

Funk explained the post office receives live animals roughly five days a week. For the most part, the Postal Service doesn't let the animals stay over the weekend, Funk explained.

The live animals vary, Funk added, with other common critters including reptiles and fish. Recently, they've seen more chickens.

"The chicken business has gotten a lot bigger with just the cost of eggs going up," Funk said.

It didn't take Funk long to get used to the overnight shift. He enjoys having his spare time during the day and doesn't have any issues sleeping while the sun is out.

"Some people never can get adjusted to it," Funk said. "It hasn't bothered me. If I get tired, I go to sleep."

'We're all sad to see him leave'

Invariably, Funk's coworkers described the soon-to-be-retiree with the same three characteristics: he's dependable, he loves sports (especially the Cubs and Colts) and he is a notable REO Speedwagon fan.

Funk's neighbor Brandy Allen has worked alongside Funk for six years.

"He just takes everybody in," Allen said. "He's the nicest person. We're all sad to see him leave."

Funk used to work with Allen's grandfather Bob Hall. It's one of several cases where Funk has worked with multiple generations from one family.

Allen said she will miss Funk's singing.

Funk routinely plays REO Speedwagon on his Spotify account and sings along with the music. His favorites include "Ridin' the Storm Out," "Take It on the Run" and "Son of a Poor Man."

"I enjoy my job, singing and playing my music," Funk said.

"It's going to be quiet without him," Allen added.

As neighbors, there's a running joke in the post office. Allen will finally be able to take snow days off once Funk retires.

Allen explained she drives a truck to work while Funk drives a low-to-the ground BMW. Funk is determined not to miss any days from work, too. So, if he can make it in, their coworkers will know she could have made it in.

There have been several times Allen and Funk were the only people who came in on a snow day, she added.

Until recently, Funk had been storing all of his sick time as well. He still has roughly 4,600 hours of sick leave in the bank, which will be tacked on to his pension.

He had to use a portion of his sick leave toward the end of autumn, after he survived a heart attack that occurred in Walmart.

A coworker told him the heart attack was God's way of telling him to retire.

"That made a lot of sense to me," Funk said.

Funk's last day is set for Thursday. He's looking forward to a group dinner with his coworkers to celebrate his retirement, hoping for a J. Edwards cake and some other good food.

"It's been a good job," Funk said. "Really, no complaints."

James Bennett III can be reached at 765-454-8580 or james.bennett@kokomotribune.com.