Family Celebrates 2nd Thanksgiving with USPS Worker Who Helped Their Father amid Health Crisis

An Illinois family welcomed a very special guest back to their Thanksgiving table this year — the mail carrier who helped save their loved one after a serious fall.

The Miller family of Aurora once again hosted USPS mail carrier Jaylen Lockhart, along with his partner and their young daughter, for Thanksgiving at their home. It was the second year they’ve shared the holiday together after Lockhart came to the aid of 75-year-old Guy Miller when he fell while walking his dog in November 2024, according to Good Morning America.

At the time, Lockhart, 27, was working as a substitute mail carrier when he noticed something was wrong.

“I was on my mail route, looking at my rearview mirror, and I saw that Guy was losing his balance,” Lockhart previously told the outlet. “He eventually did fall and took his tumble.”

“I did a U-turn, and I got to him as quick as I can, just kind of making sure he was OK,” he added.

Guy, who has diabetes, remembered struggling to get back on his feet before Lockhart reached him. Lockhart recalled seeing “a lot of blood everywhere” and quickly began alerting neighbors and talking to Miller so he could understand what had happened.

Guy shared his address, and Lockhart drove to the home and knocked on the door. When his wife, Marcia Miller, answered, he explained the situation, and she and Guy’s daughter — a nurse — rushed to help.

“My daughter checked him for a concussion and said, ‘You know, I think we’re OK here.’ So yeah, [we’re] very, very, very thankful,” Marcia told GMA after the incident last year.

The Millers later tracked Lockhart down, got to know him and his family, and eventually invited them to Thanksgiving dinner. That first holiday together went so well that they invited him back again this year, hosting him once more on Thursday, Nov. 27.

This year’s celebration turned into an even bigger milestone when Lockhart proposed to his girlfriend, Sydney Rehm, in front of the Miller family. He dropped to one knee, presented her with a ring — and she said yes.

“They had the champagne bottles waiting,” Lockhart told GMA in an interview on Thursday. “They greeted us with a great smile. And so it was something that was very embraced and loved.”

Lockhart and Rehm, who have been together since high school, have been a couple for nearly a decade. They share a 2-year-old daughter, Lennyn.

Reflecting on his love for his fiancée, Lockhart said, “Sydney embodies what the Thanksgiving spirit is all about, and that’s being thankful and giving. She’s given me the greatest gift ever: love. That’s something that I cherish, and I will for the rest of my life.”

Rehm said the engagement was one of the happiest days of her life.

“We’ve experienced ups, downs, highs, lows, and I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else,” she said of her relationship with Lockhart.

More than likely, Lockhart plans to return the kindness of those Thanksgiving invitations by including the Millers on the guest list for the couple’s wedding. He told GMA that he feels he has gained a new family since his chance meeting with Guy last year and now looks up to the 75-year-old as “a role model.”

“I see he’s a great husband. He’s been a great dad, and a great mentor,” Lockhart said. “And I’m just blessed that we’re here for another Thanksgiving, and blessed to have a great role model.”