PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — A mail carrier in Port Charlotte formed an unlikely friendship with a 93-year-old widow that will take the pair to the Philippines.
Theresa Fenelon has been delivering mail for around 10 years and said she always looks out for the residents on her routes.
“The joke is that we know more about you than you think we know,” said Fenelon.
So, in late 2023, when Fenelon noticed 93-year-old Remedios (Remy) Ortiz Canque wasn’t getting her mail from the mailbox at her apartment, she checked in on her.
“I went to her and figured out she had a disability.” said Fenelon.
Fenelon began hand delivering mail to Remy, then volunteering to help her around the house, taking her to the store and to church.
“I got to become her friend and get closer to her, she’s like my grandma.”
Remy is a retired teacher who was born in the Philippines. She came to the U.S. in the 1970’s with her husband who passed away in 2019. She’s been living alone since his death and has no immediate family in the area.
“I have no relatives here, I’m a very lonesome person, depression is there,” Remy told Fox 4. “I’m very happy with Theresa, she's a perfect person for me.”
Then Remy asked Fenelon for a favor, to help her move back to the Philippines where she has family and so she can bury her husband's ashes.
“I told her I wanted to go home,” said Remy. “She said ‘I’m going to bring you’.”
After months of planning together, Fenelon will travel over 9000 miles to make her farthest delivery yet, and bring Remy back home.
“It’s rewarding to think that she’s going to go and it's going to be a better situation,” said Fenelon. “I can’t put it into words, that she gets to fulfill her last wishes and hopefully be in a better situation for many more years to come.”
Remy told Fox 4 she is excited to make the trip.
“I’m going back for good,” said Remy. “But I’ll be sad when she [Theresa] leaves, because I love her very much. She’s a member of my family.
