Richard Ripley

Family and friends of Richard L. Ripley are grieving his death on May 22, 2023 at Hospice of Wichita Falls. He was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in October, 2022, that quickly overwhelmed his body’s defenses and the best efforts of his team of caregivers.

Dick was born to Bert Glen Ripley Jr and Octaevia Hart Ripley in Wichita Falls TX on April 11, 1942. In life he was an ebullient storyteller, talented writer, impeccable businessman, lover of Doo Wop, and possessor of a deep heart for family and friends. He attended Wichita Falls public schools and was further educated at Woodberry Forest Preparatory School in Orange, Virginia, Princeton University (BA 1964), and Stanford School of Business (MBA 1966).

He married Sue Ann Ross of Wichita Falls in 1965. They lived in Palo Alto, California, until Dick finished his MBA degree. They then moved to New York City, where Dick began his career in banking and finance at Bankers Trust Company. After five years he and Sue moved to Houston, Texas. Dick worked at First City National Bank of Dallas and Houston from 1971-1983, eventually becoming Vice Chairman of the Board. He was hired by BancTexas Group in 1983, a $2 billion holding company, as President and C.E.O. The bank was in trouble, but under Dick’s leadership it was restructured and returned to profitability, the first major bank in Texas to have gone through the process. In 1988 he became President and Chief Operating Officer of Texas American Bank of Dallas. His successful tenure there was cut short by his selection as President and C.O.O. of First American Bank in McLean, Virginia, another rescue mission. By this time his reputation as a leader who could pull an ailing bank back from the brink of failure was well established. After engineering a soft landing for First American Bank, he was recruited by South Trust Bank of Georgia. After two years in Atlanta he and Sue returned to Texas, where Dick assumed the financial leadership of the American Trust Company, a family trust headquartered in Dallas. He retired from active management in 2015, but he and Sue have maintained their close relationships with this long beloved family.

Dick and Sue have been blessed with two children, Brad Ripley (1971) and Sara Ripley (1975). Dick was an only child; Sue’s father, R. Benton Ross, was one of six. So from the relative quiet and sanity of a family of three, Dick was surrounded by a horde of relatives all of whose names he had to learn and remember.

Digging deep into his store of social adaptability he found the resources to not only survive but enjoy the chaos and noise that a big family spontaneously generates. His newly enlarged family in return appreciated his quick wit, the quiet warmth he radiated in family settings, and his loyalty. He rarely failed to attend the biannual Ross Family reunions; when he was absent, he was sorely missed. He loved bird-hunting with his buddies and was loath to miss a season; he was always on board for an annual fishing expedition on the White River in Arkansas with son Brad and a collection of fathers and sons and other friends. Dick was a faithful friend to me and a village’s worth of family and friends. He was a devoted father and husband.

He is survived by his wife Sue Ross Ripley of Wichita Falls; his son Brad Ripley, Brad’s wife Rebecca Fallen, and their daughters Lela and Margot of Reston, Virginia; Dick’s daughter Sara Ripley and her husband Joe Linch of Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho; and a whole raft of Ross cousins. Dick and Sue lived in many places; and everywhere they made dear friends, lifetime connections that have sustained them through the years.

Donations may be made to Grace Church, Hospice of Wichita Falls, the Ducks for Deaf Men Foundation, and Woodbury Forest School, Orange, Virginia.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hamptonvaughancrestview.com for the Ripley family.