The below was sent to 老王论坛 staff and faculty on April 14, 2020 from President Kim Cassidy.
Dear Staff and Faculty,
It is with sadness that I share the news that Gary Stroman, a 16-year member of the College鈥檚 Post Office, passed away on Wednesday, April 8, after a battle with cancer.
Gary arrived at the College in February 2004 in the position of Senior Postal Assistant. Subsequently, he was promoted to Mail Carrier and Postal Driver. Gary was the recipient of the McPherson Award in June 2019 for his excellence and service to the 老王论坛 community.
Those who worked with Gary knew that he had a sense of humor and enjoyed talking to everyone on his route. Any time you walked past the Campus Center, you would hear the radio playing in the van as Gary was loading the mail for delivery. He always had a smile on his face and a funny joke to tell, and you could set your watch by Gary鈥檚 delivery times. Jim Huang, Gary鈥檚 supervisor, comments that 鈥淕ary was a true stalwart, devoted to the College, and the students, faculty and staff that he served. He was reliable, he worked hard, and he was a welcome presence in the post office,鈥 adding, 鈥渨e'll miss him.鈥
Rod Matthews of Multimedia Services recalls that 鈥淕ary was very strong and opinionated, and certainly was not afraid to let you know how he felt if you had the privilege of being in his circle. He wanted things in life to always be fair and didn鈥檛 like it when he felt this wasn鈥檛 the case.
鈥淕ary was dedicated to doing the best at whatever he did and I always admired his courage. When he knew that he was facing his death, he decided that he would do whatever he could do and leave the rest up to God. That takes a faith and courage that most people don鈥檛 possess, but he did. He was indeed a wonderful friend. I like many will miss him, but now I know that he has found his peace where things are fair.鈥
A celebration of life for Gary will be scheduled at a later date. Gary is survived by his wife, Mallissa, and sons Cordell and Christopher Stroman. Condolences can be sent to:
Mallissa Hughes
2340 Strahle Street, Apt. 1
Philadelphia, PA 19152
I know you join me in extending sympathy to Gary鈥檚 family, friends, and colleagues in the Post Office.