Brazoria County District Clerk Jerry Deere died on Thursday, just hours after officially retiring from the office that he served for many years.

"I knew he had been in bad health for quite a while so it wasn't unexpected that he passed away," said Brazoria County Judge Joe King.  "I just thought it was kind of ironic that he did the paperwork." Listen: RealPlayer  MP3

King said that Deere was unable to go into the office on Thursday, so he signed and faxed the retirement papers to the county. 

The commissioners court held an emergency meeting today to approve the bond for Rhonda Barchak, who was appointed by the district judges to fill the remainder of Deere's term and to deputize the employees in the District Clerk's Office so business can continue.