TEXAS BANKING NEWS, PEOPLE AND IDEAS
TEXAS BANKING NEWS, PEOPLE AND IDEAS
Former Texas Banking Commissioner Ken Littlefield passed away at age 79 on November 10 after experiencing a medical emergency while doing one of his favorite things in the world—snorkeling in the Cayman Islands. He led the Texas Department of Banking from 1986 to 1992. After earning both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in … Read more
Laurel Ann (Sissy) Phillips Austin, chief lending officer, investment officer and member of the board of directors at Jacksonville-based Austin Bank and its parent company, Austin Bancorp Inc., passed away on August 29 after a courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease. She was 83. Austin grew up in Jacksonville, graduated as valedictorian from the Jacksonville High … Read more
Joe Robert Grist Sr., president of Snyder-based West Texas State Bank, passed away on August 13 in Snyder at the age of 58. After earning his bachelor’s degree from Abilene Christian University and a master’s degree from Hardin-Simmons University, Grist launched his banking career. His professional career was spent working alongside his father, John E. … Read more
Longtime banker and community banking advocate Gary Dean Edmiston, 84, of Odessa passed away on April 26. Edmiston played tennis while attending North Texas State University. Upon graduating, he also found immense joy in his career as a banker in West Texas, becoming president of Security State Bank in 1979 and later being named chief … Read more
William J. Renfro, longtime banker and a pillar of the Austin business community, passed away on February 29. Born in Glasgow, Kentucky, and raised in Port Lavaca, according to his obituary, Renfro “dedicated his career to the banking industry and eventually the betterment of his beloved city of Austin. Throughout his illustrious career, he made … Read more
Longtime Texas banker and rancher John A. Cole of Lampasas passed away on December 24, 2023, in Dallas at the age of 92. Born in 1931 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, he held a BS degree and MS degree in geological engineering from the University of Oklahoma, then went on to earn an MBA degree from … Read more
Longtime Dallas banker James Murphy II passed away on October 5 at the age of 72. After earning a BBA degree in finance/general business and an MBA degree in real estate/finance from Southern Methodist University in the early 1970s, Murphy launched his banking career. For more than four decades, he worked as an executive at several … Read more
Longtime banker Ronald “Ronnie” Earl Abbott , founder of Paris-based Peoples National Bank (now Peoples Bank under a Texas state charter), passed away on September 1 at the age of 69. Raised in Paris, Abbott went straight to work after graduating from high school, starting off as a dispatcher for the Texas Ranger Law Enforcement … Read more
Longtime Texas banker and Texas Longhorn Hall of Famer Jack Altman Collins passed away on August 9 at the age of 82. He was born in Beaumont, but the family moved to Dallas when Collins was in grade school. A graduate of Highland Park High School, he played on the 1957 state championship football team … Read more
Larry Allen, Lubbock-based Peoples Bank CEO and chairman, has announced a partnership with Slaton Independent School District to rename the Slaton High School football stadium the Blake J. Boyd Memorial Stadium in honor of a revered Texas banker from the area. Blake J. Boyd, a longtime Slaton resident and community leader, passed away in April … Read more