Longtime banker Bobby Ray Glenn passed away peacefully at age 80 on June 1. He was born on January 28, 1942, in Weatherford.
His banking career endured for 57 years, beginning at First National Bank in Weatherford. He also worked for Citizens Bank, Merchants & Farmers Bank, Texas Bank and PlainsCapital Bank, from which he retired in 2019.
In the early 1960s after serving in the U.S. Army, Glenn returned to his hometown and enrolled in Weatherford College on the GI Bill. He was hoping to pursue a job with a large manufacturing company.
“I got a contact from a guy that worked for the Folgers Coffee Co. and he remembered me because all during high school, on Saturdays and holidays, I was the helper on a Mrs. Baird’s Bread delivery truck and would take orders for coffee,” Glenn recalled in a 2019 interview with the Weatherford Democrat. “He said he was going to retire in the months ahead and that this would be an excellent job for me. I thought it would be a great job—a manufacturer’s representative for a major company—so I filled out an application and he said he’d take care of it. Meanwhile, I got a call from Mr. Lee Young at First National Bank and [the bank] had an opening.”
Initially, Glenn was reluctant to pursue a banking career until two Weatherford College professors convinced him that it was a good choice. “I told my professors about the call from Folgers and about me turning down the job at First National Bank and both of them said I was making a bad mistake,” Glenn told the Weatherford Democrat. “They said the Folgers thing was up in the air and the bank job was a sure thing.”
So, on April 15, 1963, Glenn went to work for First National Bank in Weatherford. “Just short of 57 years later and I’m just about to totally retire from Weatherford banking,” Glenn said in the 2019 interview. “I worked for all three of the original Weatherford banks—First National Bank, Citizens National Bank and the Merchants & Farmers State Bank, which was later called Texas Bank—and [now] I’m finishing my career at PlainsCapital Bank, in my 13th year with them—and Folgers Coffee hasn’t called me yet. I’m still waiting on their call.”
According to the Weatherford Democrat, Glenn served many organizations and other entities in the county: the Weatherford ISD board of trustees; Weatherford Municipal Utility board member; Weatherford Noon Lions (55 years); Parker County Sheriff’s Posse (28 years); Parker County Historical Commission (28 years); Texas Historical Records state board member; Parker County Economic Development Corp. board member; North Side Baptist deacon; Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo board member; and Weatherford College Foundation board member (15 years).
In retirement, Glenn served as president of the Weatherford College Foundation. “He has brought in 13 permanently endowed scholarship funds to the Weatherford College Foundation, which is more than $130,000,” noted Brent Baker, Weatherford College Foundation executive director, in 2019. “Keep in mind, that [was] completely volunteer work on Bob’s part. It’s incredible—it has been such a boost to our foundation and to our college.”
Glenn received many accolades, including 1996 Outstanding Citizen Award, Weatherford Board of Realtors; 1997 Alumnus of the Year, Weatherford College; 2010 Alumnus of the Year, Weatherford ISD; 2010 James Doss Award, Weatherford Chamber of Commerce; 2011 Outstanding Citizen Award, Weatherford Chamber of Commerce; 2013 50-Year Banker Award, Texas Bankers Association; and most recently, the 2019 Carlos Hartnett Award from Weatherford College for his fundraising efforts for the Weatherford College Foundation.
Glenn is survived by his wife, Carolyn Glenn, to whom he was married for 58 years. He is also survived by son Joe Glenn, son Jim Glenn and wife Becky, daughter Jill Dunegan and husband Dan, and grandchildren Macy Dunegan, Sam Dunegan, Maggie Glenn and Major Glenn.
