D.Thomas Trigg

When the 1970s recession clobbered New England, D. Thomas Trigg Shawmut Bank’s chief executive, had to lay off hundreds of workers and renegotiate millions in faltering real estate loans. Shawmut Corp. wanted him to keep riding in a chauffeured car, one of the perks of being chairman of the board.

But Mr. Trigg declined. He bought a Chevy Vega and drove himself to work in the maroon subcompact.

“There was nothing ostentatious about my Dad,’’ said Ruth Barrett, the youngest of Mr. Trigg’s five daughters. “He would just roll his eyes when he thought about the kind of salaries bankers are making now. He thought it wasn’t ‘cricket.’ That was one of his phrases.’’

Mr. Trigg, who retired from Shawmut in 1980 after 43 years with the bank, died Jan. 8 at Fox Hill Village in Westwood of complications of Alzheimer’s disease. He was 95.

Mr. Trigg, who lived in Wellesley for four decades, was a pillar of the region’s banking world. He began his career at Shawmut as a credit investigator in the late 1930s and climbed the ladder. He was named chairman and chief executive in 1972.

In April 1976 after the bank laid off more than 500 employees, Mr. Trigg faced down investors who were angry over Shawmut’s move to trim its dividend.

According to a Globe story headlined, “Investors heat up Shawmut’s teepee,’’ Mr. Trigg explained the bank’s decisions as an effort to stave off potential disaster. “We believe that we have been better served by attempting to stretch out the recognition of problem situations,’’ he said.

In his later years, his family liked to call him the last of the conservative New England bankers.

Founded in 1836, Shawmut Bank merged with Fleet Financial in 1995, and the name was dropped from local banking.

During his career, Mr. Trigg served on a myriad of banking industry boards, including the advisory committee to the American Institute of Banking, and he was an officer of the American Bankers Association.

Born in Eureka, Kan., he grew up on a cattle ranch but his family lost all its wealth when the nation’s banks failed, according to his daughters. He was a teenager when his father, William, died soon after the 1929 stock market crash and he worked his way through school.

He attended the College of Emporia and Washburn University in Kansas before moving east to study at Babson Institute in Wellesley. He graduated in 1937 and went to work for Shawmut.

Mr. Trigg married his high school sweetheart, Marie (Forbes), in 1938 after she attended college at the University of Kansas, and brought her to Boston.

Marie was “the live wire,’’ while her husband was more reserved in social gatherings, their daughter Ruth said. “They grew up together. They complemented each other,’’ she said.

“He just was the ultimate gentleman,’’ said their daughter Gayle Hoshour. “He was very kind and really cared about people.’’

His daughters remembered childhood road trips every summer to Kansas. Their parents loved to sing great American standards along the way, such as “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.’’

“He took us to Sox games and Celtics games, and he taught us to love [University of Kansas] basketball,’’ Ruth said.

Mr. Trigg was an avid golfer and enjoyed curling. He was a member of The Country Club in Brookline and the Algonquin Club of Boston.

In 1990, Mr. Trigg and his wife moved to the Fox Hill retirement community. She died in 1998 at age 82.

Moderation was the cornerstone of Mr. Trigg’s approach to living, according to his family. “That was one of his credos — everything in moderation and always respect other people,’’ Ruth said.

Mr. Trigg was founding director of the Massachusetts Education Loan Authority and a vice president of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, his family said. He was a supporter of Northeastern University, where he became a trustee and was awarded an honorary doctorate in humanities. He also was an overseer of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

In 1979, Mr. Trigg received the Jewish Humanitarian Award, his family said. The award cited his “exemplary response to educational, cultural, and humanitarian needs within in the Boston community.’’

In addition to his daughters Gayle of Orange Park, Fla., and Ruth of Naples, Fla., Mr. Trigg leaves his daughters Carol Friedley of Sunriver, Ore., Marie Puffer of Westwood, and Margery Duncan of Naples, Fla., and Mashpee; 14 grandchildren; and 28 great-grandchildren.

A memorial service was held at St. Andrew’s Church in Wellesley, where Mr. Trigg was a longtime member.