Neil Dufort, Vashon "paperboy" for 50 years, dies at 92

With his sight deteriorating, Neil Dufort could no longer see people when they greeted him. So he would ask for their address and he would tell them their names.

Mr. Dufort knew where everyone lived, delivering The Seattle Times on Vashon Island in a nearly 50-year career. He retired only upon turning 80, and even then he was still strong enough to hoist a 50-pound bundle of Thursday papers.

Mr. Dufort died in his apartment at Providence Mount St. Vincent on Sunday (July 15) from heart problems and internal bleeding after a fall on July 4. He was 92 years old.

"He was the most patient, caring person with a feeling of responsibility for the job," said Irene Dufort, his wife.

Mr. Dufort was born in Little Falls, Minn., into a family of 10 children in 1914. His parents, Henry and Melvina, were farmers. While in high school, he took his first job as a driver, delivering milk. He met his first wife, Jeannette Posch, as a teenager.

After graduating from high school, he joined the U.S. Army and served stateside. He and Jeannette were married in San Diego.

In 1946, he became the sole deliveryman on Vashon Island for The Seattle Times, picking up the afternoon papers from the ferry dock and delivering them to the island's 500 subscribers. He retired in 1995.

"You have to be a paperboy to understand this, but sometimes people don't get their paper, if it gets wet or blows away or the dog chews it up," said friend Bill Franz. "He would go out whatever time of day it was and deliver another paper."

For 57 years, Mr. Dufort volunteered with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, splitting and delivering firewood, helping people with home repairs and building wheelchair ramps. He belonged to the Eagles, the Elks, the Sportsmen's Club and was a member of St. Patrick's Catholic Church.

Jeannette Dufort died in 1997 after a stroke, and Mr. Dufort soon started to lose his sight from glaucoma and retinal bleeding. At the Elks club in Tacoma, he met Irene Marshall, a retired nurse. The two married in 2000.

In 2003, when he could no longer take walks outside, the couple moved to Providence Mount St. Vincent in West Seattle.

Besides his wife, Mr. Dufort is survived by four sisters: Elizabeth Hermanson, of St. Cloud, Minn.; Bernette Lewis, of Orange County, Calif.; Patricia Fegge, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and Shirley Hodgson, of Chatsworth, Calif.; and a stepdaughter, Lydia, and her husband, Daniel Veliz.

Contributions to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, P.O. Box 308, Vashon, WA 98070, are welcomed.

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com