Postmaster leaves Livermore

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

Concluding a 17-year stretch as postmaster in Livermore, Juanita Mroczko on May 31 joined other recent Postal Service retirees in northern Larimer County.

LaPorte Postmaster Pam Bolesta left her post on Jan. 1, and Wellington Postmaster LaVonne Boersma retired on March 31. Together, the three women had 90 years of experience greeting customers and making sure the mail got out on time.

Mroczko tallied up 26 years with the Postal Service, starting as a machine operator. Early in her career, she met her favorite mentor – Postmaster Hank Alires – in Montrose, where she worked as a city carrier and clerk. The 4-foot-11-inch woman signed on there for a daily nine-mile walking route.

"It made me physically fit," she recalled.

In addition, Alires taught her mottos for life. "He was a firm believer in 'You do your job, you do it well, and if you make a mistake, you correct it,'" Mroczko said.

After taking a job in Cheyenne, she met her future husband, Donald Mroczko, who was manager of the carriers. Her recent retirement is bittersweet, having lost her partner to Lou Gehrig's disease this spring.

"My husband was the focal point of my life," she said.

The couple were living in the Waverly area when the Livermore postmaster job became available. Liking the proximity to home, Mroczko started work there in January 1993 and found it to be a good fit.

"I just fell in love with the community," she said. "We have good people in Livermore. I got to know all the old timers who were there and all their stories."

Not long after taking over in Livermore, she inherited the Virginia Dale customers, who lost their small post office to consolidation. Those proud residents, however, did not lose their community name as they were able to keep a Virginia Dale address and use the Livermore zip code, 80536.

The addressing change never bothered Mroczko. Again, she recalled her mentor's advice: "You know where it goes, deliver it."

"Our job is delivery of the mail and good customer service," she said.

She also befriended the nuns at the Abbey of St. Walburga, who relocated to Virginia Dale in 1997. Mroczko plans to visit the abbey more often now that she has time.

In late June, Mroczko was getting ready for the gathering of her children and nine grandchildren for the Fourth of July. Son Miguel Inda lives in Eaton, daughter Marisol Inda is coming from Humble, Texas, and daughter Marisa Inda will arrive from Monrovia, Calif.

Next year, Mroczko has plans for a European vacation. She will see family in Spain, visit the Vatican in Rome, and spend a couple of weeks in Lourdes, France.

Though her feet may wander the globe, Mroczko said, "Livermore will always hold a dear place in my heart."