
By JESSIE HORTON
July 26, 2024
This week the Stephenville business community honors Katharine Demetruk. She has spent 46 years in banking in Stephenville.
But she hasn’t only worked in Stephenville, she was raised here, too. And raised her own children here.
Demetruk is a Stephenville HS grad and attended Tarleton State. She and her husband, Patrick, raised their two children, Brett Demetruk and Jackie Foster here. With her retirement, Katharine will be spending more time with her two wonderful grandchildren, Cillian and Willow.
Throughout her career, she has worked for a few different places around town, and even worked at the same building for 39 years.
“I started my banking career in bookkeeping… filing checks one check a time,” she recalled. “Then it turned into automation which introduced bulk filing. As I tell new employees at the bank now, if you want to learn banking, you need to start answering the phone. There is always something new, or a twist to some question that you thought you may have known but a customer has a different request that you hadn’t thought of before. In those 46 years, I moved from a small hometown bank to mega big bank and then to a local bank. I also saw debit cards and ATMs introduced to the world. Now we are straight into the digital world where we just tap to pay. When I first started in banking, our customers needed to go down to the bank to do ‘their banking’ now they just pull out their phones. It has definitely gotten more convenient for the customer. However, the relationships with our customers have stayed strong.”
During her time, Demetruk has managed dozens of tellers and personal bankers. She said she learned each team member brings something special and unique to the team. And she felt it was her job to build off those shills or knowledge and welcome all the value each one could bring to the team.
“Long ago, my manager, Perry Elliott, said it very simply, “Take care of people, staff, customers, friends, and family. Make sure they have what they need, and that they are supported and welcomed. Then everything else falls into place.” I have always tried to emulate that simple, yet easily forgotten mantra. It hasn’t failed me yet.”
In the 46 years she’s worked in Stephenville, Demetruk said she enjoyed many things about community banking, but most of all, that it allowed her to get to know her customers.
“I see them at church, at community events, and at sports events. We offer solutions to their banking needs, curtailed just for them, not products for the masses,” she said. “Customers are appreciative on what we have done for them, their mom, dad, or their family/ friends. They will stop you in the grocery store and give you a quick hug to say thanks for taking care of my family. That has meant the world to me and has made me proud to be a banker in Stephenville.”


Demetruk said there will be things she misses after she’s retired.
“I am going to miss sharing time with my customers and learning how their families are doing or hear about their latest trip. Mostly I will miss the folks I work with and who have become family. Our TexasBank work family sees us through, not only a hard day at work, but through personal tragedies, big celebrations of life events, and everything in between. Bottom line: It’s who you work with that makes a job worth going to every day.”
But there are things, she’s going to enjoy as well.
“I look forward to taking a deep breath, not worrying about the next business day and what needs to be done,” Demetruk said. “But most importantly, I look forward to spending my day undistracted, not caring about the time and what needs to be done, because I am with my friends and family.”




Even though she’s leaving, Demetruk has some advice for anyone just starting out in banking.
“Community Banking is for people who care about the people and the community they live in. Banking is a lot of fun,” she said. “You meet new people from all walks of life each day. You keep up with what is happening in the community and the world. Plus, you can also help your neighbor and be part of making a difference. It has its challenges. I can say, no two days are alike. And, that’s how I enjoyed living for over four decades.”
Now, the folks at TexasBank in Stephenville are hosting a reception at the Wolfe Nursery location in honor of her many years of dedicated service to the community. There will be a come and go retirement celebration at the TexasBank on Wolfe Nursery Road from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Tuesday, July 30.
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