SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — Marine veteran and longtime Savannah resident Emmett Walker says that when FedEx delivers, they go above and beyond.

“They deliver in my hand, they don’t just leave it on the porch and run,” said Walker, who is currently at home under the care of Hospice Savannah and regularly relies on the courier service to deliver his essential medications.

“They make sure that I get it,” he told WSAV.com Now. “That’s one thing that I’ve loved about FedEx.”

Walker says he’s been struggling with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and emphysema, as well as dealing with the loss of his wife of 30 years, Ellen, who died about a year ago.

“It’s been a bad year,” Walker said. 

He ended up in the hospital with pneumonia shortly after Ellen’s passing, which is when doctors recommended hospice care. 

“This is a dignity in dying, you know, you don’t want to think about dying, but COPD emphysema is a non-curable disease, and it’s been a pretty rough experience,” said Walker, optimistically adding that he’s hoping for better years to come.

When it comes to getting packages of medicine delivered at home, Walker says there’s one driver in particular who has really stood out. 

“He doesn’t know me, but he’s got a spirit about him to help.”

Emmett Walker, Hospice Savannah patient

FedEx employee Greg Youngner tells WSAV.com Now he’s been stopping by Walker’s mobile home to deliver packages for the past year, and since then, Walker said an unlikely friendship has blossomed.

“I like to stick my head in and check in on him, see how he’s doing,” Youngner said. 

One day, Youngner stopped by and saw that Walker’s television was off. Youngner would normally find Walker sitting in his chair watching the TV, so he asked what’s wrong with it.

“He said his cable was out, so I said, ‘well, I’ve got a digital antenna I’ll let you have,’ and so I brought that the next week and hooked him up,” Youngner said.

That’s not where Youngner’s generosity ends. 

His wife Angela has been making sure Walker has a good, home-cooked meal to enjoy. 

“Angela always makes lasagna and it’s her specialty,” Youngner said. “She always makes too much, so I brought Mr. Emmett some, and that kind of started the ball rolling.”

Now, whenever Angela cooks on the weekends, she’ll always prepare more food than she needs so that there’s plenty to bring to Walker.

Walker said he previously had an organization that delivered him food, but “it wasn’t working out too good.”

He added that although he’s had kind people bring him groceries, preparing his own meals has been difficult.

“With COPD and emphysema, it’s hard to cook, so it takes two or three trips to the kitchen for me to even cook or warm-up anything,” Walker said. “But now that Greg and his wife have filled in on the grocery part, I now get lasagne, chicken parmesan and things I can’t pronounce or see!” he laughed.

“I couldn’t thank them enough for it,” Walker added.

Youngner humbly said he and his wife simply just like to help wherever they can.

“I saw a need and thought it would be good to help out if I could, and I can, so I thought I’d do a little bit just to help,” he said. 

Walker has joked that he would love for the Youngners to adopt him.

“He doesn’t know me, but he’s got a spirit about him to help,” Walker said, adding that he’s been all over the world and hasn’t seen or experienced kindness like he has in Savannah.

“I have found the kindred spirit of volunteerism here in this town just unbeatable,” he said.

Recently, another FedEx driver in New Jersey was praised online after his show of patriotism was caught on a home security camera.

Gusty winds had whipped over the resident’s flag pole, and the driver walked up to the yard to pick up the flag and fold it. 

Walker says he saw that story on the news, and after experiencing Youngner’s generosity firsthand, he figures FedEx must be doing something right.

WSAV.com Now reached out to FedEx for a comment on the kindness of their employees. 

A company spokesperson had this to say about Youngner’s actions:

Youngner said offering a helping hand to Walker has been easy to do, and it’s something he knows someone can really appreciate. 

“And I do, I do appreciate it,” Walker said.