Last week Wright City said farewell to longtime Clerk and Treasurer Karen Girondo after more than 40 years in public service.

Girondo’s first day with the Wright City government was Monday, Dec. 1, 1975. Her last was Friday, March 27, 2020.

“Today it seems real. Not until today,” Girondo told The Record on her last day. “But I’m ready. I’ve loved what I did and enjoyed it.”

Retirement will give Girondo time to study genealogy and trace her family roots, as well as spend more time with her grandchildren. She also plans to travel, once the current public health crisis is through.

The many years Girondo has served Wright City have brought many changes, both for the town and for her.

“When I started with the city, there was probably around 800 to 900 people,” Girondo recalled. “Now when we do the Census, I think we will have over 5,000 people.”

Along with the new people came new homes, new jobs and new businesses. Girondo said the work she’s most proud of is helping bring manufacturers to town after being assigned economic development duties. It wasn’t something she thought she’d be doing when she first took the job.

Starting out, Girondo said she and her siblings all pursued work in public service following the example of her father, Mike Schriener. He served for a time as mayor and was an active member of the community.

Girondo said taking on her different roles became its own fulfillment, with unexpected challenges and the satisfaction of seeing the growth in the city and in herself.

“It definitely broadened my horizons,” Girondo mused. “I’ve grown in so many ways. In the confidence in my work that this job has given me. The confidence to help others, to grow the city.”

It hasn’t always been an easy job. Over more than four decades, many elected officials have come and gone at city hall. Some had very different ideas about how the city should be run, leading to conflicts with Girondo or others.

“There have been some trying times. But I just had to believe in myself and the work I was doing,” Girondo said. That’s the message she’s passing on to her successors: Believe in your work and love what you do.

When asked what her strangest experience was at the city, she recalled the 1986 manhunt for murderer Michael Wayne Jackson, which had the entire city and county on lockdown.

“He held this town in terror for 10 days,” Girondo recalled. “I spent one night at city hall calling city residents that there was a SWAT team at their front door to take them to a safe place, because they thought he was in the area.”

Departing city hall will be bittersweet after all this time, but Girondo said she’ll continue to be involved in community development and will be around to help if needed.

City officials said they’re sorry to see her go.

“I’m still not sure I’m in agreement with it, but I don’t seem to have any control over it,” Mayor Dan Rowden joked. “We wish our friend and colleague ... the very best of luck and happiness, and to enjoy a long and well-deserved respite from public service.”