EASTHAMPTON — Mark Conroy hasn’t been to a Middlebury College football game since the last time he played in one in the 1980s. That’s one of the many stops he plans to make this year now that he finally has time for it.

Having the weekends off will be like trying to read a language he isn’t fluent in. It’ll take some getting used to.

“I haven’t had a Saturday off since maybe 1980,” Conroy said. “I haven’t been able to go to a Middlebury College football game since the last game I played in.”

The last day of the school year at the Williston Northampton School this spring also marked the last day of Conroy’s career. During a 24-year career at Williston that began in 2000, he served as the athletic director and coach of many different athletics programs, including the head football coach for 16 years. Williston will hold a banquet ceremony on Friday to recognize Conroy and his wife, Monique, and Conroy will then be inducted into the Williston Hall of Fame on Saturday.

During his time with the Wildcats, their athletic programs won a total of 21 NEPSAC championships, and he helped advocate for the addition of several programs (including girls volleyball, crew and ultimate frisbee).

Work never really felt like work to Conroy. He may not have had a consistent house he lived in growing up all over the United States as a military kid, but one thing always remained the same.

He loved sports.

And once his playing days were up, he knew an occupation in that realm was essential.

“One of the things about a job is trying to find one where it feels like, ‘They pay me to do this? Really?’” Conroy said. “There certainly is work, but there has been so much joy. Just being around athletics, it’s been wonderful. Like my 85-year old mother says, ‘You’re doing exactly what you were supposed to do.’ I’ve had so many tremendous people at Williston help make this the best job in the world.”

One of those people happened to be his best friend, who he met back at Middlebury College: Monique. Upon graduating, the couple moved to Connecticut when Conroy accepted a job working at Indian Mountain School. Coincidentally, a math teacher position was open, which Monique was offered.

After nine years there, they flew across the country to southern California.

Then married, Monique stayed home with their two children while Conroy worked at the Webb Schools – again in an athletics position. Half a decade later, in the year 2000, the athletic director position at Williston opened up, as did a math position for Monique.

That’s exactly where they wanted to be.

“We knew that was a temporary personal and professional adventure, so to speak,” Conroy said of his time on the West Coast. “We knew that our roads would lead us back to Williston. Any time I had any exposure to Williston [at my previous jobs], I always left with such a positive feeling. A positive feeling about the school's culture and the competitiveness of the athletics programs. [Former AD Rick Francis] asked me to apply for the job when he was retiring, one thing led to another and I got the job.”

They knew Williston would be their last stop. The Conroys felt it was a perfect spot to raise their two kids, Kristina and Kevin.

Now 24 years later, the pair are riding off in the sunset together. Monique is joining her husband in retirement.

“We’ve just been a team,” Conroy said. “Our house has always been full of kids. And you have Mrs. Conroy, who teaches them in math, and I coached them in football. We have all these different layers and connections with kids. I couldn’t imagine a better career, and just sharing it with my life partner has been an amazing experience. I’m happy we’re [retiring] together.”

Team has defined Conroy’s time as an athletic director, especially at Williston. Associate athletic director Melissa Brousseau, who's been at the school for 27 years and worked directly with Conroy for the latter half of his tenure, said there isn’t one shift he wouldn’t pick up when asked.

Whether it be early 3 a.m. shifts, operating the scoreboard and shot clock for basketball games, covering study halls during the day or shifts in the dorms at night, Brousseau said Conroy is as selfless a leader as they come.

“Mark is somebody who leads with service,” Brousseau said. “He is always willing to do anything. He would never ask somebody else to do something if he wouldn’t do it himself first. And through that, I think that he’s completely touched every part of the campus here because of that. He’s a great role model and example in that way.”

Conroy noted that all of the students that came through Williston felt like family, but the two that were his own certainly stood out among the rest.

Kristina graduated in 2010 and Kevin turned his tassel in 2012, and both were coached by their parents. Having his children on campus made the 24 years at Williston that much sweeter.

“To watch our kids and be such a big part of their journey – my wife coached our daughter in soccer, and I coached her in basketball growing up,” Conroy said. “And I coached my son in football as well. To have your children be a part of it was so special. It’s all been a very cool experience.”

Even though Conroy felt the time was right to retire, it wasn’t a decision he came to without an abundance of thought. His colleagues, which he called ‘the best darn people possible,’ the students and the overall family community made it a tug-of-war between yes and no.

But at 64 years of age, with grandchildren in the fold and as the son of a mother in her mid-80s, Conroy’s priorities were in order.

He’s been a symbol of family for so long at Williston. Now, it’s finally time for him to be with his own.

“It wasn’t an easy decision, because it’s just been a labor of love at Williston,” Conroy said. “But at the same time, any time you get to this point in your career, there are little signs that tell you it’s time. We’re not thinking about it like the end, we’re thinking about the next chapter. We just became grandparents, my mom is in the twilight of her life and I would love to be able to support her with more time than I’ve been able to. [Monique and I] just felt the time was right.”