Judge Derryberry recognized for service on court
Sep. 18—LIMA — On Friday, Judge Glenn Derryberry finally received a worthy send-off into retirement. The longtime Allen County judge, who served on the county's probate and juvenile courts, retired in January, choosing not to seek re-election at the end of his term.
His colleagues wanted to give him a proper celebration, but couldn't because of being limited by the pandemic. Seven months later, they finally got the chance to say goodbye properly. They recognized his achievements over the years and highlighted his service to the community on and off the bench. Derryberry said it's the people he misses most about the job.
Some of his notable accomplishments include partnering with Bluffton University to create internship opportunities with students, as well as overseeing the construction of the Allen County Juvenile Detention Center.
"I miss the people. I always enjoyed working with staff, I always enjoyed working with the people who were in court in front of me," he said. "Because people with problems need help getting them solved and sometimes they have to pay for what they did wrong, but try to keep them on the right path or direct them on the right path. I'll always miss working with the people."
Derryberry served in his last role since 2007. Before that, he served as the Chief Magistrate of the Allen County Juvenile Court for 18 years. He's also spent time working as a public defender, Assistant Attorney General for the State of Ohio and Assistant Lima City Prosecutor throughout his career.
Overall, he said that he's been enjoying retirement, although he has been doing some assigned judge work for the Ohio Supreme Court in his spare time. Other than that, he's enjoyed the opportunity to get into kayaking, playing the piano and spending more time with his grandchildren.
"I always loved my job, but it's nice to not have that staring you in the face every day, got to get up and go deal with something every day," he said. "It's nice to not have to do that, it's nice to get up and then decide what you're going to do."
Reach Trevor Hubert at 567-242-0398
