It was peak season — just days before Christmas last year — when Salmon, ID, Postmaster Michael Farnworth heard from a grieving customer with a heartbreaking request.
The woman, whose newborn daughter had died at only 8 days old, was worried that the burial dress she’d ordered online from a retailer across the country wouldn’t arrive in time for the funeral.
“Can you help?” she asked.
Though it would be a daunting challenge, the Postal Service employee assured the customer she would have her package when she needed it.
After determining that the shipment was at the Salt Lake City Processing and Distribution Center, Farnworth enlisted colleagues there to locate it. He then coordinated with Post Office Operations Manager Brandon Roundy, who intercepted the package at Pocatello, ID, and immediately drove to meet Farnworth halfway between Pocatello and Salmon — a 220-mile round trip on a snowy day for each man.
By the end of the afternoon, the customer met Farnworth at the Salmon Post Office, where she smiled through tears and hugged him as he handed her the dress for her infant’s funeral the following morning.
“To be able to give this family at least some comfort in such a trying time made my entire Christmas,” Farnworth said later.
He added: “I was doing what I would want someone else to do for me in the same situation. We, as a postal team, only did what was right.”