Flathead County’s longest-tenured District Court judge has announced his retirement at the end of the summer.

Judge Ted O. Lympus, 72, will step down from the bench on Aug. 31, the court said on Monday.

He plans to spend more time with his wife, children and grandchildren, according to a press release.

Lympus spent 23 years on the bench in Flathead County District Court. He became a judge in April 1992 after serving 13 years as the Flathead County Attorney.

Born in Missoula, he received his law degree from the University of Montana and has remained an avid fan of the Grizzlies. He and his wife, Patsy, attend football games with nearly unwavering consistency. In fact, when Lympus missed the first home football game of the Griz in 2006, the Inter Lake published a story, noting it was the first game he’d missed since he was in the Army.

In that interview with the Inter Lake, the Lympuses lauded their grandchildren as “fifth-generation Grizzly fans.”

According to Monday’s release, Lympus also plans to focus on his love of Montana and his “beloved Montana Grizzlies.”

Lympus ran unopposed in his last election in 2012. Of those who voted on the ballot line, 81 percent marked in favor of the re-election.

His term would have ended in 2018.

Reporter Matt Hudson may be reached at 758-4459 or by email at mhudson@dailyinterlake.com.