When Patty Ball’s husband, Tim, decided to retire last September, Patty knew she wouldn’t be too far behind.

“We’ve wanted to travel for a long time,” she said.

That’s why the 59-year-old Mower County Court Administrator will retire at the end of this week.

Patty has worked for Mower County for almost 30 years, from the time she started as a clerk of court to her current position, where she oversees court administration for both Mower and Dodge counties.

“We actually had to lug giant books around,” she said. “That was our court records of the day.”

An Austin native, Patty received her associate’s degree at Riverland Community College before she was hired in June 1975. Since then, she has worked in almost every facet of court administration.

Of course, Patty has seen huge changes in court administration since she first started. The courts have switched to an online scheduling system, and many records are done completely online now.

“It’s a huge change across the board,” Patty said.

Yet Patty will miss out on further changes as of Feb. 27. She and her husband plan to travel more, including more trips to Arizona to visit their daughters.

There’s no word on Patty’s replacement yet, but the Third Judicial Court District has already decided no one person can do her job. Once Patty leaves, Mower County and Dodge County will hire their own court administrators instead of combining forces.

“It’s nice to see it going back to the way it should be,” she said with a laugh.

Of course, Patty will miss being at the courthouse, where there’s never a shortage of work and the place is always busy. Yet she said she’ll miss her coworkers most of all.

“We’ve got a lively crew here,” she said. “I’m going to miss them.”