Shelley Hale Collier, Jr.

Shelley Hale Collier, Jr., a man of the highest integrity dedicated to community service, his country, and his customers as a third-generation banker in the Rio Grande Valley, died peacefully early Christmas morning at home in the Edgemere retirement community in Dallas.

Shelley was born July 1, 1928, in Mercedes, Texas, to Shelley H. and Marguerite Feike Collier. He attended public schools in Mercedes, New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, and the University of Texas in Austin, graduating with a BBA in banking and finance in 1950. While at UT, he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, and later served on the Executive Council of the Ex-Students Association.

After college, Shelley went to work full-time at his father’s bank, First National Bank of Mercedes, where he had started as an errand boy in high school. He would hold virtually every position until becoming the bank’s president in 1960. Three years later, Shelley graduated from the School of Banking of the South at Louisiana State University, and it was clear he was in the business for the long haul. He later served on the School of Banking of the South’s Board of Directors.

Shelley and a longtime business associate, John C. Jones, had interests in banks in Mercedes and La Feria. In 1971, they organized Valley National Bank of McAllen, where Shelley became president. The pair also organized banks in Edinburg and Harlingen and purchased an existing bank in Weslaco. Shelley was elected chairman and CEO of Valley National in 1987, serving in that position until the Cullen/Frost organization bought the bank in 1995.

Shelley filled numerous roles in banking organizations, the highlight being in 1991 when he was elected chairman of the Texas Bankers Association. He also was president of the Valley Bankers Association and first chairman of the Community Bankers Division of the TBA. He served on the Administrative Committee of the Community Bankers Council of the American Bankers Association and as treasurer of the TBA, and was the first chairman of the Microcomputer Task Force of the ABA.

In addition to giving back to one’s profession, Shelley felt strongly about service to country, church, and community. His civic involvement was extensive, as he helped lead fundraising drives to build a new library and a motel in Mercedes and served as a vice president of the Texas Jaycees. He was a life member of the Confederate Air Force, spent several years as a regent for the former Pan American University (UTPA) in Edinburg, and taught courses for the American Institute of Banking. Gov. Preston Smith appointed him to the board of the Rio Grande Valley Pollution Control Authority.

When he wasn’t working or spending time with his family, Shelley loved flying and scuba diving, and hunting was one of his life’s joys. Not many get to experience four African safaris, which gave him the chance to get the big five in his hunting conquests.

Asked by others how he was doing, Shelley was known for always replying with a smile and a hearty “Fantastic – or a little bit better!” He treated all people with respect and lived his long, honorable life by this and other guiding principles: “If a person has integrity, nothing else matters. If a person doesn’t have integrity, nothing else matters.”

Shelley is survived by his wife of 61 years, Caryl, and their children, Mikie Simanonok of Tampa, Fla.; Shelley H. “Corky” Collier III (Sara) of Portland, Ore.; Susan Parry of Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Kay Christlieb (Frank) of Arlington, Texas;sister, Margie Brooke of Beeville, Texas; and grandchildren Mike (Stacy) and John Simanonok; Henry Collier; Elisabeth Parry (Liam); and William and Lindsay Christlieb. He was preceded in death by his granddaughter Emily.