Troy City Schools honored Joyce Deveridge Thursday to celebrate her retirement from the school system.

Deveridge has served as TCS’ chief financial officer for the last ten years.

Superintendent Linda Felton-Smith said Deveridge has been a great person to work with.

“Ms. Deveridge has been an asset to Troy City Schools,” Felton-Smith said. “She has been totally committed to using our funds to promote opportunities for our children.”

Deveridge said she may be retired now, but she isn’t going to sit around idly.

“I intend to do a lot of traveling,” Deveridge said. “I just want to make the best out of being able to retire at a young age.”

Part of making the best of retirement will include becoming more involved with the community, as well as spending more time with her family.

“I want to do some volunteer work,” Deveridge said.

“I want to be a missionary more in my church. I want to be more supportive of my mother, who is 81, and my mother-in-law, who is 88. I also have an 81-year-old neighbor that I also look forward to being helpful with. I also look forward to spending more time with my grandchildren and my daughter. I just want to be able to come into the schools for pleasure time and not for work.”

While Deveridge has not had much time to enter schools for pleasure, Felton-Smith said her involvement with the school system through her work has been second to none.

“She has been a shining star in our office, just keeping us all focused and on track,” Felton-Smith said.

“She’s very passionate about her work. She never complained about putting in extra time. Her motto has basically been, ‘I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure we are financially sound,’ and she has done just that.”

Felton-Smith said Deveridge’s presence in the TCS office will be missed.

It’s a bittersweet moment,” Felton-Smith said.

“I’m happy that she’s at a point where she has 30 years and she can retire, but it’s heartbreaking because she is going to be so missed.”

Deveridge said while she will miss her coworkers, she is looking forward to being involved with Troy City Schools on a more direct level.

“I’ll miss my coworkers,” Deveridge said. “I’ve had some very good close connections with my coworkers. I’ll miss them all. I’ve worked with all the schools and all the principals and administrative staffs. I’ve never had that direct contact with the students, but I do look forward to that.”