Something strange happened near the beginning of January; our daily newspaper wasn’t on our front porch like it always is just waiting for us to retrieve it.

We decided to read it online and go about our day, but commented several times how odd that was that it never came.

The next morning, as we always do, we went in search of the paper, only to find it not arriving again. It was so commonplace for it to ALWAYS be there that our neighbor yelled over “hey did you get your paper,” to which we replied “no” and agreed that is very strange.

Our paper has been delivered by the dynamic duo Roy and Rita Dilling for more years than I can count and yes, they were a duo.

They faithfully delivered our paper like the old saying goes, through wind, sleet, snow and rain; those two were committed to delivering our paper.

Their car pulling in our driveway was so normal that even the dog no longer barked at the sound of the engine or the doors opening and closing at 5 a.m.

In 2019, when my mother passed away, we had several bags of beautiful clothing, and it occurred to me that Rita might enjoy some of them, so they made their way to Rita, and she wrote me a beautiful thank you card and crocheted me a placemat and potholder in return.

We soon learned that Rita Dilling passed away on Jan. 5, 2025, and left behind a wonderful family.

I had lunch with a friend a few weeks ago and we were discussing an article in the paper, which led us to talk about missing our morning delivery by the husband-and-wife team. It made me realize we weren’t the only ones thinking about the loss of Rita.

So, from all of their customers, we want Roy and his family to know how much we appreciated all the years of great service, and although Rita has left this earth, she is certainly not forgotten.

Beverly Green

Altoona