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Mickie Couch
When she was in high school, Mickie Couch got a part-time job at the dentist’s office in Dublin. “I had worn braces before we moved to Dublin, and the whole dental field kind of interested me,” she said. “And in a town like Dublin there’s not very many places that you can work and earn a little extra money.”
But Couch’s part-time job in high school was more than just a way to earn some extra money — that job led her to a 41-year career as a dental hygienist.
Couch graduated from Dublin High School in 1972, and went on to college at Wharton County Junior College near Houston. Midway through school, she drove the fivehour drive back to Dublin to marry her high school sweetheart, Gary Couch, and then returned to school while Gary remained in Dublin.
When she graduated a year later, she returned to Dublin to live with her husband and work for Dr. Raley, the dentist at the time. Couch worked in offices in Dublin and Stephenville for the next few years, and helped out various dentists, including Drs Crabtree and Harbin.
“I’d see patients on a regular basis for cleanings, x-rays, and things like that,” she said. “You check for signs of oral cancer and teach them how to take care of their mouth.”
When Couch’s husband, who worked for FMC, needed to move to Midland for work for a couple of years, Couch was able to find a job there easily. She was also able to keep her job while raising her daughter, Keedra, who was born in 1977.
“It was a really good profession because I was able to work part time,” she said. “When our daughter was in college, I worked full time to help get her through school, but the rest of the time I usually only worked three or four days a week, and that really appealed to me to be able to have free time.”
She enjoyed getting to know her coworkers and patients in different offices. “I worked with some awesome people over the years, and had some patients that I got to know and really missed when I didn’t get to see them anymore,” she said.
Finally, in 2016, Couch was able to retire. “When I was 20 years old, I could never imagine being able to retire and have the life that we have now,” she said. “But we can, because we worked hard and my husband has always been a good money manager. We’re just really blessed.”
Since her retirement in 2016, Couch has been living in Kerrville, and enjoying her new free time, for the most part. “It’s beautiful out here in the Hill Country,” she said. “This last year has been not so much fun, but that’s how it is for everybody.”
Couch is active in her church, Riverside Church of Christ in Kerrville. She teaches a Bible class and is part of the ladies group there. She especially enjoys volunteering with them, tutoring local school children and making treats for teachers and first responders.
Couch also likes to quilt and do other kinds of crafts. She first learned to quilt at the Flying Needle in Stephenville, and now makes baby quilts and other gift quilts for her friends and family.
When the pandemic is over, Couch and her husband hope to do more traveling. “There’s a lot of places in the United States that we have not visited,” she said. “We’d love to go back to Colorado, and I’ve never been to California.”
The Couches have one daughter, Keedra, who is now 44 and works as a nurse in Kerrville. Keedra’s husband is a physical therapist, and they have two children, ages 22 and 17. “My daughter and her husband moved down here to Kerrville when they got out of college, so that’s how we ended up down here,” Couch said. “I needed to be close to the grandkids.”
Couch returns to Dublin often to visit her father, John Hodges Sr., who still lives in the area, and her brother, Dr. John Hodges Jr. Her father, and her mother Sandra Hodges, were very inspiring to Couch as she was growing up. “My parents were always very hard working, and they taught us Christian values and how to think of others, and not just yourself,” she said.
Couch’s advice to Dublin graduates is to not underestimate themselves or feel at a disadvantage because they come from a small town. “I’ve known a lot of people that have graduated from Dublin that have gone on and done wonderful things,” she said. “I think it’s easy to feel like in a small town that you don’t have opportunities that maybe some others have, but actually, you do.”
Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other graduates, email publisher@dublincitizen.com.