Harry B. Brock Jr.

Harry B. Brock Jr. (March 31, 1925 – July 29, 2015) was an American banker and philanthropist.

Harry B. Brock Jr.
Born	(1925-03-31)March 31, 1925 Fort Payne, Alabama
Died	July 29, 2015(2015-07-29) (aged 90)
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Tennessee Military Institute University of Alabama (BSc)
Occupations	Banker philanthropist
Spouse	Jane ​ (m. 1949)​
Children	3 (Stanley M. Brock, Barrett Brock MacKay, and Harry B. Brock III)

Early life

Harry B. Brock Jr. was born on March 31, 1925, in Fort Payne, Alabama.^[1][2] He grew up in Gadsden, Alabama.^[2] He graduated from the Tennessee Military Institute and served in the U.S. Navy Submarine Service during the Second World War from 1944 to 1946.^[1][2] He then graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce and Business Administration in 1949.^[1][2] In 1964, he earned a certificate from the American Institute of Banking.^[2]

Career

Back in Gadsden, Brock first worked as a truck driver for the Brook-Martin Oil Company.^[2] He later worked as a car salesman with John Thomas Motors of Gadsden.^[2] In 1964, he co-founded the Central Bank and Trust Company (later known as Compass Bank, eventually BBVA Compass).^[1][3][4] In 1968, together with other investors, he gained voting control of the State National Bank of Alabama. In 1981, he merged the two banks.^[1][2] By 1987, Central Bancshares of the South was the first bank in Alabama to own a bank in another state.^[1] He retired from the Board of Directors in 1991.^[1][4]

He served on the Board of Directors of Marathon Industries and the Daniel International Corporation (now merged with the Fluor Corporation).^[2]

He served on the Board of the Alabama Alliance of Business and Industry.^[2] He was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor in 1983 and the Alabama Business Hall of Fame in 1993.^[1][2][3] He also became an honoree of the Birmingham Business Hall of Fame in 1999.^[5]

Philanthropy

Brock sat on the Board of Trustees of Samford University, where the Brock School of Business is named in his honor.^[1][3][4] He has also served on the President's Cabinet at his alma mater, the University of Alabama.^[1] He has served on the board of the Southern Research Institute and the Gorgas Scholarship Foundation.^[1][2] He has also volunteered for Kiwanis.^[1]

Personal life and death

He married Jane in 1949, shortly after he graduated from college.^[1][2] They have three children, Stanley M. Brock; Barrett Brock MacKay; and Harry B. Brock III.^[2] Brock died on July 29, 2015.^[6]