Retired postal clerk will miss his job answering Santa's letters
COLDWATER — For the last couple of weeks of February, customers and friends stopped by the Coldwater Post Office counter to say goodbye and happy retirement to Tom Lothamer.
Most didn't know the familiar postal clerk was also their local Santa.
After 28 years, eight months, and three weeks on the job, Lothamer, 56, will take time for himself and spend more time with his wife, Angela.
The Quincy native made many friends at his counter, taking time to talk, answer questions, and give suggestions, especially to those new to the area. He had suckers for kids, treats for dogs, and an interest in people.
For the last 23 years, Lothamer handled the Christmas letters kids wrote to Santa and dropped into the lobby Santa mailbox.
Nationwide post offices receive letters to Santa at Christmas. In Coldwater, Lothamer volunteered to answer them.
Since 2000, Lothamer has sat down with his family to read about 40 letters yearly.
"They're the most adorable letters. 'I love Santa. How are the reindeer? How's Mrs. Claus?'" he remembered. "They are very sweet. Some very laughable like, 'I've been kinda good.'"
Lothamer answered them with a word processing program and a special letterhead as Santa, capping the letters off with a North Pole postmark.
"This isn't something new that I created," Lothamer said. Postal employees all over the country participate in Santa programs. "This is part of what keeps the magic of Santa's alive. It really is very rewarding."
Postal regulations do not allow letters to be destroyed, so after a couple of years, Lothamer decided he could send the Santa letters back to parents as mementos of their children.
While he's taking off his Santa hat, he isn't done giving back.
Lothamer will continue volunteering in retirement, driving for the American Cancer Society transportation service, Road to Recovery, to ensure patients get to treatment and appointments.
Lothamer's mother was a breast cancer survivor but died in 2008 from acute leukemia.
"I understand needing someone to drive you. I also understand the advocacy if someone wants to talk by just being there," he said.
He can also relate to patients in another way.
"I've got cancer. It's in my small intestines that metastasized to my liver. I currently carry that around with me every day," Lothamer said.
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He could retire early by using his four years of service as a Marine. "It was time to do other things," Lothamer said.
As he leaves, Lothamer hopes a fellow postal worker will step up to become Coldwater's Santa.
-- Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Retired Coldwater postal clerk will miss job answering Santa's letters
