Lifelong Grantsville resident Wendy Palmer is chasing a lifelong dream -- all the way to a ranch in Nebraska.

Palmer, who has been at the heart of Grantsville City's government for 25 years, most recently as city recorder, is retiring in October at the age of 47 to run a 913-acre ranch with her husband, Gary, and 15-year-old twins, Jacob and Jessica. The family plans to use the ranch to train horses and raise cattle and hogs.

"I've always wanted to have my own herd of cattle and live my life on the back of a horse," Palmer said. "Now I am able to retire and live that lifestyle."

Working as city recorder since 1996, Palmer has held many city positions -- a number of them simultaneously -- through the years. She was the receptionist, zoning administrator, utility clerk and nuisance officer. At that time, Grantsville's city government consisted of Mayor Keith Brown and two other employees: Pat Hunter, recorder, and Marjorie Stam, treasurer, payroll clerk and police secretary.

"We all just did everything," Palmer said. "It was a great office."

Current Mayor Byron Anderson said he and the city council will miss the wealth of experience that will leave with Palmer. He said the recorder operates as a quasi-city manager, doing everything from budgeting to preparing the mayor and city council for meetings, and taking city council meeting minutes.

"She is dedicated and honest, very straightforward," Anderson said. "We will probably be calling her from time to time. The big things we can handle, but it is the little things that may give us trouble."

Anderson said Palmer has been training her replacement, Jeremy Walker, since May. Walker is a certified public accountant from Tooele.

Looking back over her time as a city employee, Palmer said she grew personally and professionally from her associations with the five mayors and the many council members she worked with.

"More than anything else, I learned patience from the mayors," she said. "The value of those people is tremendous. I probably got so much more from the mayors and council members than they ever got from me."

Palmer said her most cherished accomplishments were working with economic development advisors to attract the Wal-Mart Distribution Center to Grantsville, and attaining community development block grants for various projects that have improved the quality of life for Grantsville residents, such as the senior citizens center and installing new playground equipment at Cherry Street Park.

Susan Gustin, city treasurer and human resource manager, has worked with Palmer since 1989. She said Palmer has been an open door for public inquiry.

"She has great public relations skills," Gustin said. "She will answer any question for anyone who comes in. Even if it is not related to her department, she will get the answer. She has lived here all her life and knows a lot of the town's history. She knows how everything operates."

Palmer, who graduated from Grantsville High School in 1978, said the city's growth rate in the 1980s was only about 1 percent annually. Then, as the Salt Lake Valley began to overflow with development, growth jumped to about 3 percent in the early 1990s. In recent years, that rate has leaped to around 7 percent, she said.

"People want a rural lifestyle, a slower pace. Grantsville still gives people a chance to take a deep breath and relax," Palmer said.

Palmer herself is looking for an even slower pace of life as a rancher. Having been a farmer for nearly 20 years, she is well acquainted with raising and caring for a barnyard of animals. She and her children have trained and shown trail horses, two of which hold state championship titles.

She said her quest for a ranch began in 2005 with an Internet search. She Googled the word 'ranch' and began looking through real estate listings. On long weekends, she and her family visited ranches in Wyoming and Nebraska.

"It's going to be a great life," she said. "We have a lot of fun things planned. Getting back to the basics is a great draw. The land, the animals -- it is a truthful and pure existence."