LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
Sabrina Funkhouser started working at just 14 years old. Her first job at Monical’s Pizza in Paris required a special permit, because of her age, according to her husband John Funkhouser, but once she started at the job she worked it for almost 10 years.
Shortly after graduating high school, the Paris native found a job that would become her vocation for the next 45 years, not in a pizza shop, but in a bank.
“She started (at Citizens National Bank) on Sept. 10, 1979, and this year will mark a complete 45 years working for the bank,” John Funkhouser explained. “She worked two jobs in the beginning, but then the bank became a full-time job… Now she will retire on the same day she first started. It is very neat, and I am very proud of her.”
Over her years of employment at Citizens National Bank, Sabrina Funkhouser carried the titles of Savings Teller, Drive up Teller, New Accounts Representative and Trust Client Support Staff. By 1990, she held the position of Trust Administrative Assistant, a role her husband said she was “such a fan of.”
“There was an opening in trust, she took that…then she worked her way up as a trust officer. From there, she completed Cannon Trust School,” John Funkhouser said. “The job in trust was her most rewarding time, because she got to work with families throughout Edgar County.”
John Funkhouser explained one of the most impressive things about his wife’s career was watching how she interacted with dozens of families throughout the years.
“She has always loved working with people and she always maintained such a sense of professionalism with all of the families,” he explained. “She left work at work and home at home. I was always so impressed by her commitment, even talking to everyone out in public.”
The appreciative husband said his wife has always upheld her professionalism, even in private.
“It was banking and that’s how it was,” he said. “She never came home and talked about banking or the families, she was just always professional.”
John Funkhouser had a front-row seat to watch Sabrina Funkhouser continue to climb the ranks within the bank when the ownership swapped hands and the bank transitioned from Citizen’s National Bank to First Farmers Bank and Trust.
In May of 2012, after the acquisition, she became the AVP Branch Manager/Mortgage Lender eventually taking over AVP Consumer Lender duties as well.
“She did a lot, she was an underwriter…she loved that job as well,” he said. “She loved each one of her jobs and roles… and she loves this community, she always has.”
Sabrina Funkhouser’s roles over the past 45 years have extended beyond the bank. As an active community volunteer, she has served on the Paris Area Chamber of Commerce, on the Edgar County Fair Board and spent a decade as 4-H leader.
“In all those years, and even with everything she has done, she never missed a single sporting event for our son. She always had time for him. She was incredible,” John Funkhouser said. “She’s been a wonderful wife and mother, and an unbelievable grandmother.”
John Funkhouser is not the only person proud of her career and volunteerism either, the relationships she has built over the years with both coworkers and clients speak volumes.
“The one thing I always admired about (her) is her energy,” co-worker Lydia Laughlin said. “She would work circles around the rest of us…be the first one to take charge of a situation and get it done.”
Laughlin said when Sabrina Funkhouser finds herself in any situation she takes on the challenge, with determination, and “she will conquer it.”
“When work was caught up, our favorite thing to do was to rearrange the office furniture in our waiting area. We kept things moving, so to speak, in our department,” she explained with a chuckle.
To the co-worker turned life-long friend, takeaways from her time working with Sabrina Funkhouser include taking “pride in yourself and knowing at the end of the day, you did the best job you could do, and to come back the next day and do it all over again.”
Another former co-worker, Mike Morris remembers his time with Sabrina Funkhouser fondly.
“One thing I remember about her volunteering was that she served as a minute taker for the chamber,” he said. “She was always ready to volunteer for any need in the community… she was a very hard worker Customers loved her bubbling personality.”
Morris said she worked in many departments over the years, but regardless of where she was, Sabrina Funkhouser was “always excellent at whatever she did.”
On Sept. 10, co-workers past and present, friends, family members and families who have experienced Sabrina Funkhouser’s determination and integrity will gather at the bank to celebrate her final day of work.
The “Taco ‘Bout Retirement” celebration is planned for 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at 8964 N. Terre Haute Rd. in Paris.
