Charles Allen Angel Jr., 87, passed away on October 23 at his home in Dallas. A lifelong banker, he served in executive positions at numerous Texas banks for decades. He will always be remembered as the original Charlie Angel as he often reminded folks that he was here before there was a Charlie’s Angels TV show.
While pursuing a degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas–Austin with plans to manage his family’s East Texas oil and gas interests, Angel’s interest in banking emerged. According to his obituary, he observed at the time that the “best job was being a banker, working ‘banker’s hours.’” He changed his degree path, earning a BBA degree in finance from the University of Texas and an MBA degree in real estate from Southern Methodist University. He went on to graduate from the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University where he later served on faculty (1977–78).
After serving as a captain in the U.S. Army, Angel launched his banking career at Mercantile National Bank in Dallas. In 1962, he joined City Bank as a credit analyst and quickly worked himself up the ranks to bank president. By 1970, he had joined Preston State Bank where he met and worked with his lifelong mentor, Weldon Howell, the bank’s president. Preston State Bank is credited with creating one of the first credit cards in the nation, Presto-Charge, a forerunner to MasterCard. When Howell became chairman, Angel was named president, and upon Howell’s retirement, Angel became chairman. Preston State Bank later became Bank of the Southwest and, when merged with Mercantile National bank, became MBank.
In 1988, Angel joined Deposit Guaranty Bank and its successor, Team Bank. He retired from the bank as vice chairman in 1992. But after just a few weeks of retirement, the banking bug bit again and he joined the newly formed First National Bank of Park Cities as vice chairman. It was subsequently acquired by Bank of Texas. In 2004, he was tapped to launch the Preston Center branch of the de novo Sovereign Bank. He was instrumental in helping build Sovereign Bank to more than $1 billion in assets before it merged with Veritex Bank.
After that merger, Angel joined Pegasus Bank where he served as vice chairman. Then, his longtime colleague, Stephanie Velasquez, offered the opportunity to join in the leadership of the newly formed Dominion Bank in Dallas, which Angel enthusiastically accepted. He served there until his passing.
Though Angel had a distinguished career, he knew how to relish the lighter side of banking. According to his obituary, he never hesitated to give advice in his own unique way. “Whether a business proposal was genius, so-so or foolish, he always relayed his true feelings about it. No one ever left his office with any doubt as to whether to move full-steam ahead, take a detour or stop dead in the tracks. He was definitive and supportive in all his decisions. Banking was not all work for Charlie. He came to it with a twinkle in his eye. He used his joy for life, his dry sense of humor, his targeted opinions, his vast friendships and his love for all things fun to prove banking was so much more than a job.”
Angel’s obituary goes on to state that, “during 64 years of service [to banking]…Charlie’s top priority was always to instill an engrained nature of customer-related banking into young bankers. He was always very specific about his banking philosophy concerning loaning money. He loaned money to the person, not to their business or an entity. Character and looking someone in the eye when the money changed hands were the most important factors to Charlie. He would always say, ‘I am loaning the money to you—not to your business.’ As a result, he never had a loan that was not repaid—even if it took years to happen! This philosophy and his unselfish ability to mentor upcoming bankers will cement Charlie’s legacy and guarantee a future of quality banking in Dallas.”
Angel was an avid book collector and reader, loved boating on Lake Texoma and had a lifelong obsession with the color yellow, which, to him, symbolized happiness, hope and spontaneity. He is survived by his wife and best friend, Stacey—aka: Charlie’s Angel; son Charles Allen Angel III and his wife Nicole Bates of Dallas; and son Martin Scott Angel and his wife Paige of Dallas. He is also survived by his three grandchildren; his terrier companion, Dallas; and a host of friends.
