After 30 years in the postal service, Donna Pratt hangs up her uniform

MILTON — After nearly three decades of sorting mail, lifting packages and greeting generations of customers with a warm smile and a steady hand, Donna Pratt is retiring from the U.S. Postal Service.

Pratt, a fixture at the Milton Post Office for 28 of her 30 years on the job, is leaving behind more than a career. She’s leaving a community that’s come to know her as a friendly constant — a listening ear, a problem-solver and, as coworkers often joked, “the mayor” of the post office.

“I just want to be that person,” Pratt said. “My motto has been killing with kindness.”

Before her days in uniform, Pratt spent nine years in residential construction. But when she found herself craving more stability — and a job with reliable benefits — she turned to the post office.

“I’ll be honest, it was tough at first,” she said. “I went from being outside, moving all the time, to being inside, very structured. But over time, I started to really love it — especially the people.”

Her postal career began in Essex Junction as a second-shift mail handler, distributing letters to sorting machines. But she had her eye on Milton. She lived nearby, wanted daytime hours and kept applying until she landed a position there.

She never left.

In Milton, Pratt transitioned into a clerk role — working the front window, prepping carrier routes and handling incoming and outgoing mail. It was a change of pace, and a challenge.

“I used to say, ‘Just let me be in the back sorting,’” she said. “I didn’t think I’d like customer service. But then I got to know people. The same folks, over and over — and then their kids, and now even their grandkids.”

Over the years, Pratt has seen the postal world change dramatically. From hand-canceling letters to scanning barcodes on 2,000 packages a day during peak COVID, she’s embraced it all.

“Change is good,” she said. “You can’t fight it, and it’s not worth fearing it. You just have to figure out how to adapt.”

The pandemic brought one of the biggest pivots of her career. Like many, she initially feared it would grind operations to a halt.

“We thought the mail would die off,” she said. “Instead, it exploded. People were ordering everything through the mail. Toilet paper. Essentials. We had fewer staff and more volume than ever.”

Through it all — long hours, six-day work weeks, a constantly shifting schedule — Pratt kept showing up. For 19 years, she worked six days a week, sometimes starting before sunrise and staying until the last carrier returned in the evening.

It wasn’t always easy, especially while raising a young child who needed medical care. But she found support in her coworkers and pride in the work.

“People think it’s just ‘put the letter in the mailbox,’ but it’s so much more than that,” she said. “It’s teamwork. It’s logistics. It’s problem-solving. It’s making sure someone’s paycheck or medicine or wedding invitation gets where it needs to go.”

And sometimes, it’s also mailing a cake.

“Oh yeah,” Pratt laughed. “I’ve mailed a baked cake. Dentures. Eggs. You name it.”

She’s also seen her share of strange situations. She’s helped police during investigations. She’s assisted elderly customers who have fallen in the lobby. She’s handed tissues to someone grieving, and joked with a child sending their first letter.

For Pratt, that human connection is what mattered most.

“I don’t feel like I have that big an impact,” she said, “but people all the time will say how they’ve enjoyed their experience. That means something to me.”.

“Honest to God, 99% of people are great,” she added. “The community here is great — Milton as a whole, and this post office, my coworkers — I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”

As she wraps up her final weeks, Pratt is already looking ahead to the next chapter. She plans to split her time between Vermont and Florida as a snowbird, with plenty of travel, pickleball and family time on the agenda.

“I’m a busy person,” she said. “I have to stay busy.”

Still, she’s not forgetting her roots — and she hopes new postal workers bring with them a mindset of flexibility and patience.

“Embrace change,” she said. “Be open to learning. And be kind. It makes all the difference.”

As the doors of the post office close behind her for the last time, Pratt leaves knowing she did more than just deliver the mail. She delivered something harder to measure — warmth, reliability and a small but lasting imprint on the lives of those she served.