Longtime Mower County employee retires after 40 years of service

Doris Hoy spent her career caring for families in the foster care system and keeping the county's computer systems running smoothly.

Feb. 3, 2026 at 5:31pm

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After 40 years of working for Mower County in Texas, Doris Hoy has retired from her role overseeing the county's foster care system and computer operations. Hoy started as a temporary clerical worker and was quickly promoted, taking on more responsibilities over the decades including licensing foster care families and maintaining the county's client database and computer systems.

Why it matters

Hoy's long tenure and dedication to her work highlights the important but often unsung contributions of local government employees who provide critical services to their communities. Her ability to adapt to new challenges and technologies over her 40-year career is also notable.

The details

Hoy began her career at Mower County as a temporary clerical worker, but was soon promoted and asked to take on more responsibilities. This included learning the county's early business accounting and copy machines, as well as the state-required computer systems as they were adopted. In addition to her clerical and IT duties, Hoy was also tasked 30 years ago with overseeing the licensing of foster care families in the county. Despite having no prior social work experience, Hoy brought intelligence, wisdom and empathy to this sensitive role, interviewing and assessing hundreds of families over the years.

  • Hoy started as a temporary clerical worker at Mower County in the 1980s.
  • Hoy was promoted to take on more responsibilities, including foster care licensing, about 30 years ago.
  • Hoy retired from full-time work in January 2026, but continues to work two days per week.

The players

Doris Hoy

A 40-year employee of Mower County in Texas who started as a temporary clerical worker and was promoted to oversee the county's foster care licensing and computer systems.

Mower County Health and Human Services

The county department where Hoy worked for four decades, providing social services including the foster care system.

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The takeaway

Doris Hoy's long career of dedicated public service, adapting to new challenges and technologies while treating foster families with empathy, is an inspiring example of the important but often overlooked work done by local government employees to support their communities.