‘The greatest challenge of their lives’: Local postal worker faces medical crisis in retirement

REXBURG — Neal Ard spent most of his adult life walking the streets of Rexburg with a mailbag on his shoulder. He retired from the U.S. Postal Service in November 2025, and soon after, he and his wife, Beverly, plunged into a perfect storm of serious medical issues and financial distress.

A GoFundMe campaign entitled “Support Neal & Beverly Through Their Medical Crisis” has been started by Tyrone Lewis, the Post Master for the Rexburg Post Office, to help get the Ards through financially.

Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night …

Neal enjoyed a long, 32-year career at the Rexburg Post Office, beginning in 1993.

“He was relentless with his work,” Neal’s son, Daniel Ard, says. “Even when he got sick, he seemed to be out delivering the mail.”

Daniel said his dad had a phrase he lived by: “If I’m going to be sick, I might as well be … at my work, delivering mail.”

The job also connected Neal to people. Daniel remembers how his dad built relationships along his route and became part of the daily rhythm of the community.

“He got to know a lot of people,” Daniel said. “People would leave him stuff for Christmas and all that.”

Neal describes his time at the Postal Service as “a very fulfilling career.”

“I couldn’t even tell you how many … pieces of mail I’ve delivered over the years,” he said, “but I would estimate it in the millions.”

Lewis, Neal’s former post master, observed that many people in the community remember Neal even after his retirement because he took his job seriously and cared about the people on his route.

“He was always a great employee while we worked together,” Lewis remembered. “He took immense pride in his job, took his responsibilities very seriously, and his customers really appreciated it.”

When disaster strikes

In 2019, Neal began experiencing heart issues, a problem that worsened over time. In April 2025, a significant episode of ventricular tachycardia caused him to be hospitalized and require the implantation of a defibrillator/pacemaker.

According to Lewis, despite Neal’s health struggles, “he was more concerned about how (his absence) would affect the office.”

Even while he was out on leave, he came in just to touch base and then stayed another 30 minutes to make sure his route was being taken care of,” Lewis added. “That’s just the kind of person he is.”

Neal’s dedication to serving the community was unwavering, but in November 2025, it became clear that he would need to retire.

‘The greatest challenge of their lives’

In 2022, Beverly was unexpectedly diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, or GBS. It’s “a rare neurological disorder in which a person’s immune system mistakenly attacks part of their peripheral nervous system — the network of nerves that carries signals from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body,” according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke website.

The diagnosis required Beverly to leave her job as a Billings Specialist for Journeys DDA, as she continued to struggle with muscle weakness, numbness and loss of mobility as long-term side effects of her condition.

Neal became her primary caretaker during that time, in addition to his full-time work for the Postal Service. He retired on Oct. 31, 2025, to attend to the couple’s mutual health struggles.

“November 2025 would prove to be the greatest challenge of their lives,” Lewis wrote in the GoFundMe fundraiser description.

On November 11, 2025, Beverly was hospitalized with a serious illness in which her liver function had ceased. She was later discharged to a skilled nursing facility for 30 days of rehabilitation but showed little to no improvement and became bedridden.

Then, on Nov. 21, 2025, Neal’s mother died after a prolonged illness.

The emotional toll was overwhelming, and shortly thereafter, Neal suffered another ventricular tachycardia episode. Thankfully, his implanted device shocked his heart back into rhythm and saved his life.

“Fortunately, my brother-in-law was with me,” Neal explained. “But (when) the device shocked me, (it) sounded like a shotgun blast going off.”

A family of friends

Lewis says a fellow postal worker reached out to Neal to see how he was doing in retirement. When she discovered the dire straits that had befallen the couple, the entire Post Office staff immediately moved to assist.

“In the Rexburg office, we band together as a family. I feel like he is also my friend,” Lewis says. “We found out that his mom had just passed, and Beverly was back in the hospital, and (I) felt like I wanted to do something more than just send a card.”

At the time of publication, the GoFundMe campaign started by Lewis has reached $6,842 of an $8,000 goal.

“I’ve heard too many stories of people who keep putting retirement off; by the time they finally decide, things take a turn for the worse,” Lewis says. “It took a lot for Neal to say it was time to think about himself and his family. To see him facing this now just feels like he’s been dealt a really unfair hand.”

Lewis is hopeful that his friend’s suffering will be lessened as a result of the campaign on his behalf, but acknowledges there is a lot of uncertainty ahead.

“We were kind of trying to keep this as a private matter between friends and family,” Neal said, reflecting on the fundraiser. “But we are definitely going through a hard time. My wife can’t really speak for herself right now, because she’s pretty ill, so I’m the spokesman, I’m the advocate.”

Neal says it was difficult for him to accept the need for help, but he is profoundly grateful for the care shown to him and his family by his friends and former co-workers.

“We’ve always been responsible and dealt with whatever we’ve had come our way. I don’t ask anybody for assistance,” he said. “But now, we’re in a position where help is needed … even a prayer on our behalf is welcome.”

CLICK HERE to see or donate to the GoFundMe campaign set up for Neal and Beverly Ard.