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AJC.com > Legislature > Blog > Archives > 2006 > February > 28 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USHouse looks to honor former Capitol postmaster
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wiley T. Nixon, whose friendly face and motorized scooter were welcome sights at the state Capitol, will be paid a lasting tribute if the Georgia House has its way.
All 180 members of the Georgia House signed a resolution, which passed Tuesday, to name the Capitol post office for Nixon, its late postmaster.
Nixon, 62, died last April of complications from heart problems. He had suffered hearing problems and a speech impediment since birth, and in later years crippling arthritis.
Nixon came to the Capitol as a House doorkeeper in 1969 – recruited by former longtime House Speaker Tom Murphy (D-Bremen) – and was its postmaster at the time of his death.
“The life of Wiley Nixon touched every person in this chamber,� said state Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Cassville).
Loudermilk said Nixon, who in later years maneuvered through the Capitol by scooter, always met lawmakers with a smile and an offer of help.
Former House Speaker Terry Coleman (D-Eastman) said Nixon was “a great young man, a great person.�
“He would do anything for you,â€? Coleman said. “He just kind of made a place for himself in this great institution and felt like he was a part of it - which he was.”
Nixon supervised nine employees and two post offices at the Capitol that deliver thousands of pieces of mail twice a day.
His small office was decorated with photos of himself with the likes of Murphy, former President Jimmy Carter and Braves Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, just some of the many friends he made over the years.
He often said his chief duty as postmaster was to keep 236 legislators happy. Sometimes that meant fixing a lawmakers’ eyeglasses on the fly or cashing their payroll checks.
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