Colonial Savings Grieves Death of Founder and Chairman Emeritus James S. "Jimmy" DuBose

FORT WORTH, Texas, Dec. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- James S. "Jimmy" DuBose, 93, passed away peacefully on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017, surrounded by his loving family after a year-long battle with cancer.   MEMORIALS: In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the Texas Wesleyan University Piano Fund at www.txwes.edu/steinwaypiano.

Jimmy DuBose served as Chairman Emeritus of Colonial Savings, Colonial National Mortgage, Colonial Life Insurance Company of Texas, Colonial Mortgage Insurance, and DuBose & Associates Insurance Agency. He continued to play an active role in these businesses until his death.

A Fort Worth, Texas, resident since the age of 12, Jimmy DuBose was born July 25, 1924, in Georgetown to Edwin A. DuBose Jr. and Frances Barcus DuBose. An earnest worker and early entrepreneur, Jimmy's first job was as a bicycle newspaper delivery boy for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in the West Fort Worth neighborhood that would later become his longtime home. While still a teen, he also went into the business of making canvas-back lawn chairs in an uncle's woodshop. After graduation from Arlington Heights High School in 1941, he served in Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets until the onset of World War II. He was a B-17 and B-29 bomber pilot in the Army Air Corps during the war, then attended TCU and graduated from UT Austin with a business degree in 1949. After graduation, Jimmy was in the sawmill business in East Texas and then joined Reeves & Fitzgerald Insurance Agency.

Jimmy's start in what became a dynamic and visionary career in the mortgage business came when he founded Fort Worth Mortgage Corporation (FWMC) in 1952 to provide residential home loans to the growing post-World War II communities of North Central Texas. The one-man shop grew steadily over the next 20 years. In 1971, Jimmy acquired Colonial Savings & Loan of Lewisville, which allowed him to expand his insurance and mortgage business. Colonial Savings/FWMC was among the first home lenders in the nation to offer low down payment loans.

During the savings and loan financial crisis of the 1980s that saw hundreds of S&Ls fail, Colonial Savings remained sound under Jimmy's leadership by focusing on single-family home loans, personal banking and insurance instead of speculative commercial opportunities. Colonial emerged from the turbulent period stronger than ever. In 1982, he started CU Members Mortgage, a division dedicated to providing credit unions nationwide with mortgage origination and servicing. Today, the Colonial family of companies is a national financial corporation with more than 750 employee colleagues.

Jimmy was a member of the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association, Mortgage Bankers Association of America, and served as a member of the Texas Wesleyan University (TWU) Board of Trustees. He was the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including induction in 1998 into the Fort Worth Business Hall of Fame, an Honorary Doctoral Degree from TWU in 2012, TWU's Honorary Alumni Award 2014, and the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association's Larry E. Temple Distinguished Service Award in 2013. In 2017, the Fort Worth Independent School District unanimously voted to name the auditorium of Stripling Middle School, Jimmy's alma mater as a boy, the "Jimmy DuBose Auditorium" in recognition of the countless ways he supported the teachers and students at the school.

Only illness kept Jimmy from playing golf and tennis through his 92nd year. He loved Alpine skiing, summers in Aspen, Colo., and fly fishing in Lake City, Colo. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was an abiding interest in and affection for his family. Until her death in 2008, Jimmy and his wife Joy delighted together in the growth and achievements of their children, grandchildren and extended family. In 2010, Jimmy and the DuBose family welcomed his wife, Caroll, and her children and grandchildren into the fold. At that time, he confirmed his lifelong interest in learning as he moved with Caroll to her Coyote Creek Ranch in Aledo, where she gave him piano lessons, and they lived surrounded by nature, livestock and the Texas countryside at its most beautiful. Jimmy's lifelong positive attitude, quiet generosity and ability to see the best in the people around him are just a few of the many attributes his family, colleagues and friends will do their best to emulate.

Jimmy DuBose was preceded in death by his wife of 53 years, Joy Grimes DuBose; daughter, Gwynne DuBose Keyland; and brothers, Edwin A. DuBose, III, John Barcus DuBose, and William Shelton DuBose. SURVIVORS: Wife, Caroll Holliday DuBose; son and current Colonial Chairman, Jim DuBose and wife, Tori Adams; grandchildren, Christopher Keyland and wife, Brittany, of Austin; Kate Roberts of Aspen, Colo., Anna DuBose and fiancé Peter Morrissey, of New York, N.Y., and Jamie DuBose of Oakland, Calif.; great-grandchildren, Sean, June and James Keyland, and Trip and Ella Roberts; stepdaughters, Jennifer Beedlow and husband, Mark, Amy Moody and husband, Jim, Marla Allred and husband, Mark, and their families; and a host of extended family, friends and colleagues.

About Colonial
Founded in 1952, Colonial is a national, multi-service financial institution headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, and is one of largest servicers of mortgage loans in the United States, with a servicing portfolio of $26 Billion. It is the parent company of Colonial National Mortgage, a leading retail mortgage lender; CU Members Mortgage, which provides mortgage services to more than 300 credit unions nationwide; and Colonial Savings, a network of eight consumer/commercial banks located throughout North Central Texas. It is also affiliated with Colonial Life Insurance Company of Texas, DuBose & Associates Insurance, and Colonial Lloyds. The privately held company provides a full array of personal and business financial products and originates approximately $2 Billion in FHA, VA, Jumbo, conventional, condo, and innovative single close construction loans annually. For additional information, please visit GoColonial.com.

SOURCE Colonial Savings