BOARDMAN Special delivery of farewell for UPS worker

The delivery man estimates he's handled 7 million packages in his career.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Dressed in the same shade of brown he's worn every workday for 39 years, Vince Marsilio darted between shoppers at the Southern Park Mall, pulling along a cart stacked higher than his head with packages.
Other mall workers called out their greetings as the familiar United Parcel Service delivery man breezed by their shops and kiosks Friday.
Word was out that Marsilio, 61, was retiring, and the friends he'd made in 33 years at the mall weren't about to let the shy, unassuming man get away without notice.
"Vince, my man!" called Vi Saulsberry, a sales associate at For Your Entertainment and 25-year mall employee. Grabbing Marsilio for a hug, she said the UPS delivery man is one of a handful of employees at the mall who have worked there longer than she has.
"He's the sweetest person. He's shy though," she said, laughing. "I always tease him and ask him to dance with me. Of course, he never has."
Hustling around
Steve Mezzapeso, assistant manager at the entertainment retail store, said he's had only short conversations with Marsilio over the years because Marsilio doesn't stand still for long.
"He really hustles," Mezzapeso said. "It's amazing to watch him in action."
That hustle has made Marsilio a favorite at UPS, said his supervisor, Irving Santiago. "You know, 'Big Brown' is known for its efficiency," he said, referring to the nickname given to UPS because of its brown trucks and brown employee uniforms. "Vince is so efficient, he always surpasses what is expected."
Marsilio grew up on Youngstown's North Side, graduated from Ursuline High School in 1960 and took a job as a bakery truck delivery driver in Cleveland.
When a friend persuaded him to apply for a UPS job in 1964, he was hired on the spot. The mall was only three months old and Boardman's commercial district was relatively undeveloped when he was assigned a route there in 1970.
Since then, Marsilio calculates he's handled more than 7 million packages.
Average day
He averages 600 to 700 packages a day on his present route, with the number ballooning to 800 or 850 during the Christmas shopping season.
Marsilio's day begins with deliveries to 10 large retail stores in the Boardman commercial district, carrying in an average of 300 packages a day.
Around noon, he arrives at the mall, where most of his 300 to 400 packages must be delivered on foot. He uses a maze of service hallways for some of the deliveries and takes smaller orders through the mall concourse.
"I've never worked an eight-hour day," he said with a grin, "usually anywhere from 101/2 to 111/2 hours. I guess I'm used to it."
Marsilio said his back and arms ache, especially on Monday mornings. "It usually starts to ease up by Tuesday afternoon."
It helps that he and his wife Judith stay in shape together by walking 5 or 6 miles on Saturdays and Sundays.
"I'm not muscle-bound, but I'm in good physical condition," he said. "I couldn't do the job if I wasn't."
In retirement, Marsilio said, he hopes to travel and to spend more time with his four adult children and five grandchildren.
"People say, 'You'll be bored. You'll be bored,'" he said. "I think I'd like to see how that feels."
vinarsky@vindy.com