CLINTON — She was a little teary-eyed as she talked about her upcoming retirement from DeWitt Savings Bank, but Karen Murphy said she wasn’t sad at all.

Still, it’s difficult to spend some 35 years in a profession and not feel the emotion of a major change.

“It’s a crazy time and a crazy feeling,” Karen said.

Karen will move on to the next phase of her life on May 2, although she still will serve on the bank’s board of directors.

Karen worked at a couple of banks after college.

“Then, I married a Wapella man,” she said.

Karen’s husband Marvin owned and operated an auto repair shop in Clinton for many years and later retired from Syngenta.

They lived in St. Louis and later moved to Clinton, where Karen originally worked for Central Illinois Building and Loan, which was later occupied by Regions Bank, for five years.

Then DSB president Dixie Walden invited Karen to her home to interview for a job.

“You don’t see stuff like that anymore,” Karen said.  “I always thought that was nice.”

Karen did some teller work when she started at the bank and later moved into installment loans, and area in which she already had some experience at two other banks.  When Dixie Walden retired, Karen also became a mortgage loan officer and eventually a vice president.

“And, all along, I was the accounting person.”

When microcomputers were introduced into the banking industry, she found herself helping in that area.  Not many people at that point had much experience in computers, but Karen just happened to have more than most.

“It’s been a great job because I’ve had lots of opportunities,” Karen said.

She said it’s been great to be able to raise her children in a small town and to be in a position to assume more responsibilities and do more for the bank’s customers.

“I’ve been able to experience a lot more things than just operations.”

Karen said she had enjoyed being able to see families celebrating milestones, such as buying their first homes.

“I liked helping them through the process.”

Karen and Marvin are avid campers and plan to do plenty of that.  They have two daughters, Karlie, who is married to Greg Lamar, and their two children, of Clinton, and Kelsie, who lives in Chicago.