County’s civil deputy retiring from career she didn’t plan on

At 19 years old, Lynn O’Conner needed a summer job. The Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office needed some help in the office.

In what was only supposed to be a temporary gig, O’Conner turned the position into a full-fledged career progressing until she became the Chief Civil Deputy.

“And here we are 39 years later,” she said, laughing. “Who ever could have imagined I would have lasted this long?”

This week, county employees and the law enforcement community will come together to celebrate O’Conner’s retirement. The party is set to go from noon to 4 p.m. Friday in the upstairs chamber of Montesano City Hall. Special speakers will come at about 1 p.m.

”I’m going to miss her,” Sheriff Mike Whelan said Tuesday. “She’s become an institution here. Every day that I come to work, I can hear her laughing. She has a loud and infectious laugh and really enjoys her work. Even after 39 years, she cares about people and has not become hardened to the ways of the world.”

O’Conner said she was drawn to the Sheriff’s Office because her father was the chief of police for Montesano. But she never had her eyes on becoming a police officer. Rather, she wanted to go into nursing.

Her goal was just to make a little extra cash until she could start nursing school. She was hired on July 1, 1973 by A.M. Pat Gallagher.

“He decided to take a chance on me, for which I’ll forever be grateful,” she said.

Two years later, she was appointed chief civil deputy by Sheriff Harold Sumpter. And then was re-appointed to that position under the terms of Sheriff Dennis Morrisette and current Sheriff Whelan.

O’Conner said she’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite boss, because they all had their different styles.

“I would say the thing that’s changed the most during my time here has been the technology,” she said. “When I started in ‘73, there were no cell phones and the telephones we had were rotary dials. There was no E-911 dispatch. We all had our own dispatchers and, instead of computers, we used mimeographs and carbon paper. I started with a .357 revolver and now we have automatics.”

O’Conner’s job is to do all of the civil work for the Sheriff’s Office. Lately, that job has meant to do a lot of property seizures and evictions, some relating to foreclosures. She’s also responsible for selling the property —“almost like a real estate agent” — and making sure the proper parties receive the payments.

“I research all of my cases, was it because a wife died and massive medical bills developed? Was it because of embezzlement? Is that my job to do it? No. But I wanted to know everything I could.”

“It is very sad,” she added. “These are persons who have poured their whole heart into their home. … I’ve learned never to judge a person.”

O’Conner, who is a commissioned law enforcement officer, is there as an agent of the county to make sure a court order is followed. But, often, she says her job has become more than just repossessing a home or a car, it’s become a pseudo-counselor, talking to people going through hard times. On more than one occasion, there’s been people threatening suicide or harm to themselves.

“If I can assist that person, I will stay there until midnight if I need to,” she said. “I know the range of emotions that they’re going through.”

She has a friendly, non-threatening personality and notes that she has never had to personally arrest anyone in the line of her job.

“Some of my grace has been in talking to them and I feel I have saved the county thousands of dollars because we haven’t gotten sued,” she said.

“You name it, we’ve seized it over the number of years,” Sheriff Whelan added. “That whole area of civil procedure is frought with litigation. Once we seize it we’re responsible for it. She has done an outstanding job to ensure everything remains in its present state, nothing gets devalued and proper bonds are in place to protect me should something happen. That whole area is something that makes sheriffs a little queazy. What it tells you is she’s truly at the top of her game when you think about how many people could have sued her.”

O’Conner said she often works with uniformed officers, who accompany her on evictions and seizures.

“Ninety percent of our work is time sensitive and involves so much paperwork and even though our patrol division does so much, they’ve always been there for me,” she said.

Besides her regular job duties, she’s also become a civil instructor for the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission. In 2006, she was selected as instructor of the year for the entire commission.

“That was one of the best honors that I’ve ever had,” she said.

To be honest, O’Conner said she never thought she’d retire quite yet. She’s only 57 years old and feels like she has a lot more she could do.

But she saw the potential cuts that could be coming to the Sheriff’s Office. On paper, she says, her position costs the office at least $100,000 a year, taking into account her insurance, salary and retirement. Whelan saved her retirement decision saved at least one one job.

“I couldn’t stand knowing that me staying on here a few extra years could have led to layoffs in our office,” she said. “I only gave up this job to save positions or I’d still be here. Still, it was a Godsend. I have my ups and downs, but I figure now if they found a million dollars, I don’t think I’d stay. I think I’m totally ready for this new phase of my life.”

She’s been married for 32 years to husband Michael, a retired longshoreman, and they have two adult children together, Gayle and Doug. She also has a 3 1/2 year old grandchild.

O’Conner said she has a commercial driver’s license and may use that to do another job. Her son has also started a plumbing business and she may be able to help him, too.

She has three horses, loves to ski and she just started snowboarding — but only does it when there’s lots of powder on the ground.

“I’ve never been afraid to fall, it’s just who I am,” she laughs.

At times she wonders what her life might have been like as a nurse. But, then she recalls when her appendix burst and she got stuck in the hospital for two weeks.

“I watched some of the abuse the nurses took, and I don’t know if I could have handled that,” she said. “Really, there is not one second I can think of that I would have traded this career for anything.”