Courtesy Jean Hodges

Jean Hodges isn’t sure what to expect as she enters retired life, but said she plans to stay busy.

Ms. Hodges, 66, will retire on Dec. 31 after serving 11 years as Rusk County district clerk. Before being elected as district clerk, Ms. Hodges worked in the banking industry.

During her time as district clerk, she said the office has accomplished a lot as far as the data system. She said her goal was to make the office more friendly and accessible — something staff also wanted.

 “It has been just awesome. It’s been everything I wanted, everything I expected and so much more,” she said of her experience.

Ms. Hodges said a lot of her friends wanted her to run for district clerk because they believed she needed to do that for Rusk County.

“I had a lot of backing, and after thinking about it and praying about it, I decided I wanted to do something different,” she said.

And now that she’s retiring, Ms. Hodges plans to travel some and be with family. She also plans to do volunteer work.

Ms. Hodges said many people told her that she would know when it was time to retire, and with new mandates and computer software, she thought she was ready to leave things with the younger generation in the district clerk office.

“It’s just time to step down and take a long look at what’s going to be in the future,” she said.

Rusk County Judge Joel Hale described Ms. Hodges as “a classy lady” and said she will be missed.

“She was always nice to the people of Rusk County,” he said. “She always had a smile on her face. She always made it a pleasant experience to go in her office.”

Hale said Ms. Hodges’ administrative assistant, Courtney Terry, is slated to fill Ms. Hodges’ unexpired term.