TEXAS BANKING NEWS, PEOPLE AND IDEAS
TEXAS BANKING NEWS, PEOPLE AND IDEAS
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
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 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
Deborah (Parker Briece) Scanlon, 56, died unexpectedly on July 6 while vacationing at Borgo Scopeto Relais near Siena, Italy. She was a recognized national leader in audit, accounting and advisory services for the financial services industry, serving as audit partner and regional industry leader for Springfield, Missouri-based BKD LLP’s (now Austin-based FORVIS LLP) financial services … Read more
Marshall Bookman Peters, former chairman and CEO of First City Bank of Bryan and Texas Bankers Hall of Fame inductee, passed away peacefully on July 2 at the age of 89. He was raised in Navasota and, at the age of 11, his family moved to Bryan. After earning a BBA degree from the University … Read more
First National Bank of Giddings CEO Bill Landiss with IBAT’s Mae Beth Palone showing their respective allegiances in 2014Mae Beth Palone, who led the IBAT Leadership Division for the Independent Bankers Association of Texas for many years, passed away on June 25 from injuries sustained in a car accident. Palone was born in Klamath Falls, … Read more
Karl Edward Hill passed away on May 22 at the age of 58 at his home in Columbus. At the time of his passing, he was CEO and chairman of the board at Columbus-based The First State Bank, capping a 35-year career there. Hill attended Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University) and played … Read more