"I think it was love at first sight," said Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar about his 1985 ascension to the county's top law enforcement office. "Once I got a little taste of what goes on in the D.A.'s office, I knew that was all I wanted to do."

But after more than two decades serving the community as head prosecutor, Gricar announced last week that he plans to retire at the end of his fifth term in 2005. He said the announcement is not related to any recent events.

Gricar said he had known since his last re-election that he was going to retire, but thought it was too early to go public with it.

"I have always wanted to retire at 60; that has been my plan from the start," Gricar said. "And it was very hard to keep my retirement a secret, believe me."

Gricar wanted to make the announcement at the right time for himself, and not be caught off guard by someone in the media.

"It caught me by surprise; he has been here for some time now," said Centre County Commissioner Chris Exarchos.

Candidates for the position must be tenacious, hardworking and dedicated to the job, Gricar said, but he doesn't know who will be filling his shoes.

"He has been a Centre County fixture for so many years," said Lance Marshall, Centre County assistant district attorney. "He is an amazing crime fighter, prosecuting cases since before I was born. He is going to be missed."

With retirement comes a lot of questions about the future, and Gricar said he is neither planning on running for any other elected office, nor is he going to join a private practice.

"I want to get used to life without an alarm clock, not having to wake up and just enjoying things that I haven't had time for," Gricar said.

Gricar is Centre County's first full-time district attorney.

"The district attorney position was only part-time when I took the job in 1985, and I could never understand that," Gricar said.

"Most people in my position were working as both the district attorney and had a job at a private practice."

Working as a part-time district attorney was something Gricar wanted to change when he took office. After 10 years, the position became full-time in 1996.