After 32 years in the Decatur County School System, and almost 42 years of educational service overall, Assistant Superintendent Linda Lumpkin will retire at the end of this school year.

Lumpkin has worked at almost every school in the system since coming to Bainbridge in 1985 as a math teacher. She was a teacher in Havana, Florida, for seven years before marrying a Bainbridge man and moving 30 minutes up the road.

After two years teaching seventh and eighth graders math, she was promoted to guidance counselor, and moved from Hutto Middle to West Bainbridge Middle to Bainbridge High over the next eight years.

Then she moved to administration, taking the assistant principal job at John Johnson Elementary, followed by principal at West Bainbridge and finally the assistant superintendent of human resources at the central office.

Lumpkin said her love for education came at an early age while helping her siblings with their homework.

“I am the oldest of seven children,” Lumpkin said. “My mother always worked with me and I had to help with homework and tutor my six siblings. Education was always in my blood because I had already practiced being the teacher and helping my siblings.”

Lumpkin has a bachelor’s degree from Florida State, a master’s degree from Florida A&M, and associate’s degree from Albany State and a doctorate’s degree from Nova University.

A retirement reception for Dr. Lumpkin will be held Thursday at the Firehouse Gallery from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

“Decatur County schools has been great to me,” Lumpkin said. “It is a wonderful place to work.”