ORANGE — Neither snow nor rain nor heat kept letter carrier David L’Heureux from the swift completion of his appointed rounds. Only retirement could do that.

The 62-year-old lifelong Athol resident recently left the Orange Post Office after 31 years on the job and now looks forward to traveling the United States with his wife.

“I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel, but I think after a few days I’ll [be] glad I did it,” he said on April 30, following his final shift. “I’ll miss a lot of my customers, but I live in the area so I’ll probably bump into them a lot.”

L’Heureux said customers gave him cards, gifts and well-wishes in the final few days.

“It was nice, real nice,” he said. “Because a lot of times you just think they don’t even know you’re there. So it was nice to hear that they recognized you.”

Erin Smith, a clerk at the Orange Post Office, described L’Heureux as “an old-school-type of worker.”

“He’s very attentive to his job. He makes sure that his route is taken care of when he’s not there,” she said. “He’s very, very good.”

Mandy Richtell, who has been the postmaster in Orange for two years, said L’Heureux has been wonderful to work with.

“He’s been extremely helpful to myself and his colleagues by being here. Very reliable, shows up each and every day,” she said. “He’s just been a real joy to work with. He’s brought a lot of experience, a lot of knowledge.”

Various people will step in to cover L’Heureux’s route until a new employee is hired.

“Nothing stops the mail,” Richtell said.

L’Heureux, a U.S. Navy veteran, mentioned that the postal service is a bit of a family business, as his father was a postmaster in Royalston and Amherst.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.