SLIPPERY ROCK — In several decades of banking, John Conway saw a lot of changes.

He started at the First National Bank of Slippery Rock in the mid-1940s as a teller and worked his way up all the way to being chairman of the board.

Conway, 89, of Slippery Rock died Thursday.

When he started working at the bank, he did a little bit of everything. His wife, Kate Conway, said when people were not able to leave their houses to go to the bank, he would make house calls.

“He would go see them,” she said.

Bill Sonntag, former president of the bank, said he recalled Conway saying he used to shovel coal to heat the bank.

The bank used to be open on Saturday evening to accommodate farmers. In the beginning, Conway tallied up the bank's balance sheet at the end of the day with pen and paper.

When he started at the bank, it probably had about five or six employees. When the bank sold in 2004, it had more than 150.

“He saw a tremendous amount of growth in the years he was affiliated with the bank,” Sonntag said.

Sonntag said Conway also threw around different sayings. One of them, said at the end of a work day, was “Boys, it's time to throw the belt,” which referred to the belt pulley in old tractors.

Conway retired from the bank in 1988 as executive vice president. He then served on the board of directors until the bank sold in 2004.

Despite his white collar job, Conway had a rustic side.

“He loved working outside, in the yard,” his wife said, saying he loved cutting grass and growing corn.

The couple lived on four and a half acres. Kate Conway said her husband just needed to look out the front door and the back door, and he would find something to do.

“It's been a busy life,” she said.

Conway also was active in the community.

He was one of the original board members of the Slippery Rock Municipal Authority, serving from the mid-1950s to the 1980s, and he was instrumental in getting the water treatment and sewage treatment plants built.

Paul Dickey, general manager of the authority, said Conway was very easy to work with.

“When you saw John, he welcomed you like he was glad to see you,” Dickey said.

Conway served on the board of directors of the Slippery Rock University Foundation for 15 years, retiring last year.

Ed Bucha, executive director of the SRU Foundation, said Conway's financial background brought a lot of value to the board.

“He brought all of that to the table,” Bucha said. “We were fortunate to have him on the board.”

His obituary appears on Page A7.