UPS customers will miss Ron Crilley

It isn’t often that a retiring delivery driver leaves a hole in people’s lives. But then it isn’t often you meet someone like Ron Crilley, who customers say has delivered much more than just packages over the years. They say he has delivered laughter, faith and hope.

Hired in August 1983 at the age of 20, Crilley spent six years loading and unloading UPS delivery trucks and semis. After the second night of the fast-paced work, Crilley told his father he was quitting. Dad’s response? “Not as long as you’re living here.”

Crilley reluctantly returned to the job but said he adjusted after a couple of weeks. Six years later he was promoted to UPS driver, a position he kept for 34 years.

In recalling his early years on the job, Crilley said he spent a number of years driving a route in Amish Country.

“One day I got buried in snow about half a mile into a long Amish farmer’s lane,” he said. “The farmer came out with these big Belgian horses on a yoke, hooked a chain underneath my truck and said, ‘When you see their rear ends go down, give it the gas.’ They pulled me out like it was nothing. That was an experience.”

Crilley retired Jan. 5 from a UPS route he absolutely loved, encompassing Bolivar, Wilkshire Hills, some Strasburg addresses and Zoar, where he spent part of his childhood. Along the way he has become beloved for his “dad” jokes, kindness and a compassion for people that Crilley credits to his relationship with God.

“I was filled with the Holy Ghost when I was 10, and it put a love of people in me that just made me reach out and genuinely care about people,” he said. “I really do love everybody.”

That much is obvious if you talk with customers along Crilley’s route or catch their comments on social media. It’s not often that a package delivery man makes the impact Crilley has made.

“Ron is wonderful,” said Christina Bline, an administrative assistant at Eleet Cryogenics in Bolivar. “He has made me laugh for 15 years. He’s just a genuinely good, good man, and we will miss him dearly.”

Kelly Burwell, operations manager at Chempure Products in Bolivar, voiced a similar sentiment. “To say I will miss him is an understatement,” Burwell said. “He knows I go to lunch from noon to 1 p.m., and he’ll make sure he either gets here before noon or he’ll change his route around to come back at the end of the day. He’s definitely an amazing guy.”

Crilley has long been known to go the extra mile — or extra eight blocks — to deliver an important package.

“I’m in the computer business, so I order stuff all the time,” said Dante Mariani, who owns PC CoPilot in Bolivar. “One day I was having lunch, and I saw Ron through my Ring doorbell with a package that needed my signature. I told him I was at Sublime Smoke and I could be there in two minutes, but he brought it to me at the restaurant. It saved the day too because I needed that package for the next day.”

Over the years Crilley has kept track not only of packages, but also some personal statistics. He said he drives approximately 70-80 miles on an ordinary day and makes anywhere from 100-125 stops per day. All that stopping and jumping in and out of the truck adds up.

“I walk 3-4 miles a day,” he said.

While working as a busy UPS driver for the past 40 years, Crilley and his wife Joanne also raised daughters Lindsey and Emily and son Seth in Strasburg.

Down the road

After 40 years on the road, Crilley is making plans to stay active during retirement.

“I’m going to pick up my dad’s old tools and do some woodworking,” he said.

It’s no surprise many of his plans call for driving of some sort. “My wife and I plan to do a lot of traveling out west, camping, hiking, kayaking and riding bike trails. I also told all my customers I’m going to hop on my Harley this summer and come back to see them.”

Those plans will have to wait just a bit. “The first week I think I’m going to stay up every night watching World War II movies and eating pizza,” he said.