La Conner Weekly News - Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper

After two decades behind the counter, there is no denying Robert Salazar has put his stamp on the La Conner Post Office.

His quick wit, gregarious spirit and positive outlook – traits that have defined Salazar even as he has dealt with serious health issues – have endeared him with postal patrons since his arrival here in 2000.

“So many people stop in every day to say hello to Robert,” La Conner Postmaster Deborah Crump told the Weekly News. “Some of them are people who aren’t even coming in to do business.”

Such visits have been more frequent and heartfelt in recent days as Salazar, a do-it-all sales associate, approaches his Thursday retirement.

One afternoon last week, while Salazar briefly stepped into the post office lobby, he was approached by folks eager to share holiday greetings, present him with Christmas cards, offer gardening tips and exchange well wishes going forward.

It has often been like that for Salazar, who remembered having been thrilled when hired on in La Conner after a 20-year tour with the U.S. Navy, the bulk of which was spent at nearby NAS-Whidbey.

His daily encounters have typically run the gamut from friendly banter to Salazar delivering cautionary advice about dangers posed by diabetes,

“The people have been great,” Salazar, originally from Denver, Colorado, stressed. “I was really excited to come here.”

He had instinctively known it would be a good fit, just as his expectations for a rewarding first career in the military were realized.

“I knew that when I graduated from high school that I’d be going into the navy,” recalled Salazar, who trained as a structural mechanic. “I was just drawn to it.”

Along the way he also mastered the inner workings of customer service, which would become Salazar’s forte during his time in La Conner.

“A lot of people have come in and asked if I’m the mayor,” Salazar chuckled. “I tell them, ‘oh, no, I work at the post office full-time.’”

In retirement, beyond completing the obligatory Honey-do list at home, Salazar still vows to remain an occasional presence in La Conner, electing to maintain a postal box here.

“It will give me an excuse to ride my motorcycle up here,” said Salazar, who with his wife Loretta resides in Stanwood.

Even so, it will not be quite the same without Salazar in the building every day.

“Robert is definitely going to be missed by the community and by this post office,” Crump insisted. “We’ll find someone to succeed Robert, but as a person, there’s no way we can find anyone to replace him.”