State Rep. Jerry Knowles capped off almost 14 years of service to the 124th Legislative District on Wednesday.

It was a job he loved, he said, but he felt that it was time to retire.

“It was the hardest decision I ever made because I love what I do. It’s a good job,” said Knowles Rush Township. “When I took the job, somebody said to me, ‘You’ll know when it’s time’. And I feel that it is time.”

Knowles was elected to the House of Representatives in 2009, and served seven consecutive terms.

He announced in January that he wouldn’t seek an eighth.

He spent most of the day Tuesday at his Tamaqua branch office, fielding calls and greeting constituents.

By that point, his desk was mostly cleared and photos had been pulled from the walls.

“He gave some stuff away. He had some Notre Dame stuff, so if there was someone who came in who was a Notre Dame fan, he gave it to them,” said Lauren Miller, office manager.

Knowles always seemed to find time to chat with constituents, said Wanda Zuber, the office’s outreach specialist.

“Jerry loves people,” she noted.

Knowles didn’t set out to become a legislator.

After graduating from Marian Catholic High School, he earned a mechanical drafting degree from Thaddeus Stevens Trade School in Lancaster.

He worked as a draftsman for two years then changed his career path in 1972, when he was sworn in to the Tamaqua Police Department.

“I was a cop, and when you’re a cop, you know everything that is going on,” he said.

He resigned from the force in 1979 so he and his wife, Lorraine, could run Knowles Market in the borough’s Dutch Hill section.

“When I left the police force, I missed being involved in the community - and not knowing everything because I’m nosy,” he joked.

He decided to run for borough council and got the job. He served from 1982-90.

And from there, he’d be elected as Tamaqua’s mayor, a role he filled from 1990 - 96.

Next up was a seat as a Schuylkill County commissioner from 1996 - 2002. That career was bookended by two stints of employment on then-state Rep. Dave Argall’s staff.

He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2009, and by that point, Knowles had almost four decades of public service including time as a volunteer firefighter.

“I call myself a practical conservative,” he explained. “I am big on the pro-life issue. I am big on the second amendment.”

Locally, he said, he’s proud to have backed a $2 million grant for a new police station, magistrate’s office and community center at the former Moose building at 133 E. Broad St., Tamaqua.

His staff organized a small party to celebrate his retirement. He didn’t want anything big, he said.

“It’s been a great run. I wouldn’t do anything different from what I did,” Knowles said. “Life has been good to me.”

He doesn’t have any immediate plans.

“I would like to find something to keep me busy but I haven’t really thought that far ahead,” he said. “For now, just enjoy the holidays with the family.”

He will celebrate his 50th anniversary in June. He and Lorraine have two sons and two grandsons.

Jamie Barton was elected to serve the 124th District, and plans to keep the office open at 202 E. Broad St., Tamaqua.