Oakley William Cheney, Jr.

Oakley William Cheney, Jr. passed away in Houston, TX, on November 15 at age 86. He was born in Long Beach, California, in 1936 to Thelma Marie Christenson and Oakley W. Cheney ,where his father was stationed with the U.S. Navy. His father’s career in the Navy took Oakley and his family across the globe, including assignments in Shanghai, Panama, Washington, D.C. and Heidelberg. Oakley attended 12 different schools in 12 years, graduating from Heidelberg High School before attending the University of Virginia on a Navy ROTC scholarship.

On a spring break trip to Corpus Christi, Texas, he met Betsy Small of Dallas, Texas. They later married in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He served in Quantico, Camp Lejeune and Guantanamo Bay until 1962,when he concluded active duty and joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves.

Oakley and Betsy moved to Dallas with their young son, Bill, in 1962 and Oakley joined First National Bank in Dallas as a management trainee. It was the beginning of a long and distinguished career in banking. As his career progressed, the couple welcomed two more children, son Spencer and daughter Elizabeth. During their 20 year marriage, they lived in Dallas, London and Houston, but always found time to take the family to Lake City, Colorado, which they considered their second home.

The couple divorced in 1980. Oakley left First National Bank and continued his focus on global banking with senior positions with Southeast Bank of Miami and Banco di Roma. He married Mary Thuss of Dallas in 1981. They lived in Miami and later settled in Houston where Mary passed away after a long battle with ALS in 2008.

After retiring from banking, Oakley pursued his interests in travel, history and the arts. He was a patron of the music programs at Festival Hill in Round Top, Texas, and a long-time supporter of The Hockaday School in Dallas and his alma mater, UVA. Always an avid learner, Oakley was a member of the Houston World Affairs Council and created his own history field trips, traveling solo or with friends to explore other countries and cultures as well as regional areas for U.S. and Texas history. He divided his time between Houston and his country home in Fayetteville, Texas, where has was active in the arts community.

Oakley was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Carol. He is survived by his 3 children, 7 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. He will be laid to rest in Hillcrest Memorial Park next to his late wife, Mary. In lieu of flowers, the family requests charitable contributions in his honor to the U.S. Marines’ Semper Fi Foundation or The Hockaday School in Dallas.