CATLETTSBURG — When he was 19, Keith Robinette was hired by the Boyd County Road Department as a mowing machine operator.

It was supposed to be a temporary position. But, it turned into a career that lasted 30 years.

During that span, Robinette, 49, rose to the top position in the road department — foreman. And, it was from that job that he retired recently.

July 31 was Robinette’s last day on the county payroll. He said he decided it was time for him to leave because of recent changes in the state’s retirement system that would cause his pension benefits to shrink if he didn’t get out now.

As with most new retirees, Robinette said he had mixed emotions about leaving. He said he enjoyed his job and was reluctant to give it up, but liked having more time to spend with his family and to do the things he enjoys.

Robinette said the realization that he was really, truly retired hit him when he was awakened by a recent storm, one he said he knew would probably result in the road department being called out to clear fallen trees and other debris.

“I just smiled, rolled over and went back to sleep,” he said. “That’s the first time I can remember being able to do that in a long time.”

Robinette said his retirement had also given him more time to help his wife, Julie, care for her 95-year-old grandmother, who lives with the couple, and to care for Julie, who fell down some stairs in February and still wears a brace on one leg.

“He’s a pretty good nurse,” Julie Robinette joked.

Julie Robinette vividly remembers when her husband hired on with the road department because “we had to wait on his first paycheck before we could get married.” The couple will celebrate their 30th anniversary next month.

The Robinettes are the parents of two sons, Brandon, 27, who works at Marathon Petroleum’s Catlettsburg refinery; Brian, 23, who recently served a 15-month tour of duty in Iraq with the Army; and one daughter, Sarah, 22, a senior at Morehead State University. The couple also have two grandchildren, Dylan, 6, and Rylee, 2, both of whom are Brandon’s children.

Keith Robinette is a member of the Boyd County Fair Board and a volunteer with the 4-H Horse Club.

“He and Julie have been instrumental in the growth of the fair,” said John McGlone, 4-H leader and a fellow fair board member. “Without their support, the livestock show and auction wouldn’t be where it is today.”

Before becoming road foreman, Robinette was supervisor of the county sewer system, which is part of the road department. He was promoted to foreman when Claude Alley retired.

During his tenure, the department underwent a number of changes, the biggest of which was a move from the Ramey Home to a former Ashland Alliance shell building in Paul Coffey Industrial Park.

The employees of the road department, Keith Robinette said, “are very professional and very hard-working. I’m proud of every one of them.”

Among the activities Keith Robinette said he will enjoy doing more often now that he’s retired are horseback riding, motorcycle riding, camping and working his farm on White’s Creek.

And, for the first time in a long time, he said he’s actually looking forward to winter — the first snow, in particular.

“I never got to play in the snow with my kids when they were growing up because I was always out working,” he said. “Hopefully, I can make up for that now with my grandkids.”

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.