Connie Hendrix plans to spend more time with her first grandchild, Ridge, when she retires at the end of this school year. PHOTO BY LISA CARNLEY After a quarter of a century with the Lampasas Independent School District, Connie Hendrix has decided to hang up her jump rope.

The Lampasas native taught English as a Second Language for a short time early on, and now she marvels that she has taught some of her first students’ kids.

After 17 years as a fourth-grade reading teacher at Kline Whitis Elementary and then at Hanna Springs Intermediate, Mrs. Hendrix finally got her dream job: teaching physical education.

“I waited 17 years for this job,” she said.

And when Terry Jane Wolfe retired, Mrs. Hendrix had her opportu- nity. For the last eight years, she has been teaching elementary PE at Hanna Springs.

“It’s bittersweet to be giving this up since I waited so long for it, but I think I had the best year ever this year,” she said.

The 2009-2010 school year was the first for separate physical education programs for boys and girls. “It gave us time to work with the kids individually, and I think they all benefited.”

Born at Rollins-Brook Hospital, Mrs. Hendrix graduated in the Lampasas High School Class of 1974.

She earned a bachelor of science in education with a minor in physical education from Southwestern University in Georgetown.

After she and Tim Hendrix married in 1976, she was a teacher’s aide at Lampasas Middle School before the couple moved to Georgetown in 1977, where both her children were born.

In 1986, the family returned to Lampasas, and Mrs. Hendrix began a long affiliation with the local school district.

“We didn’t really plan to move back do Lampasas,” she said. “But my dad had cancer, and we needed to be with him.”

Mrs. Hendrix’s husband was in construction, and a worsening economy and lack of jobs in Georgetown also convinced the couple to move to Lampasas.

The longtime educator believes this is the right time to retire. And she has several good reasons -- one in particular: a new grandson.

“I want to spend time with Ridge. He is a joy to be with,” she said of her first grandchild.

But her days also will be filled with business pursuits. She owns Lone Star Boat and Recreational Vehicle storage and manages more than 200 units. She keeps busy with rentals and bookkeeping responsibilities.

“I’ve been doing two jobs for a long time, but the storage business is profitable enough where I can stay home and do just that,” Mrs. Hendrix said.

But she doesn’t plan to sit idly at home, either. “I will help take care of my grandson, who just turned 1,” she said.

Mrs. Hendrix, who said she has always had a passion for reading, hopes to hold adult literacy classes at the library. And for someone who never planned to be a teacher, she really enjoyed it.

“I would get excited when kids would start reading and learn something. Giving them the gift of words is exciting.”

But Mrs. Hendrix actually decided to teach so she could spend summers with her children. “That was really a blessing.”

Other retirement plans call for golf lessons and spending more time with her husband in joint pursuits. “We’ve talked about buying an RV and traveling to Florida and other places. We both like to golf.”

Mrs. Hendrix also plans to continue training for triathlons. This will be her eighth year to enter the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure event. “I’m going to keep doing that until my body won’t let me anymore.”

She has run the Spring Ho 10K race for the past 15 years and plans to enter again this year.

Her husband’s business, Tyco Construction, is in the process of building a warehouse facility, and though Tim remains busy, she hopes they can spend more time together.

Son Wade and his wife, Lauren, live in Leander. He works for his father’s construction company, and his wife works in cancer research.

Daughter Holly and husband, Ryan Hill, live in Lampasas. She is a licensed school psychologist at Kline Whitis Elementary, and he is a self-employed painting contractor for RLH Paint.

“I knew from the beginning that I wouldn’t teach anymore when I reached my eligibility to retire. I have seen teachers teach to the point of not being effective in their jobs, and I don’t want to go there,” Mrs. Hendrix said.

“I am still physically in good shape, and I want to go and do things. I want to enjoy retirement and make it what it’s supposed to be.”

Though she will miss her friends and her “sweet family at Hanna Springs,” Mrs. Hendrix is ready for her last day of school on June 5. And June 6, she will be ready to run the triathlon.

“Teaching was fun, and I got to spend a lot of time with my kids. That was important to me,” she said. “I look forward to having more time to spend with them.

“I am happy that my children married people who fit our family so well. Now, we are complete and whole. We love our daughter-inlaw and son-in-law.

“I feel I have touched a lot of lives during my career, and my life has come full circle,” she said. “Being born here, moving back here, raising my kids here and retiring here to spend more time with my family, it has come full circle.”