which lasted a long time ,” he said . “ I worked for First National for 11 years .”
But there would be a gap in that long banking career . “ Along about 1974 , the cattle business got good and I quit the bank and got into that , exotic cattle brokerage . A year later the market broke and I saw I couldn ’ t make a living at that . So I went back to banking .”
He worked two years as vicepresident and loan officer at the bank in Coleman and three years at First National in Brownwood . Then Worthington and a “ fellow Aggie ” partner bought a bank in Bryson in Jack County , 14 miles west of his old stomping grounds in Jacksboro . He eventually bought out the partner and sold the bank to locals .
“ But prior to selling that bank I was in the process of chartering Weatherford National Bank here , which opened in 1984 ,” Worthington said . “ I was founder of Weatherford National . I sold the Bryson bank in ’ 86 . So for a while there I owned two banks . Actually , I didn ’ t ‘ own ’ the Weatherford bank ; I owned a lot of shares in the bank , but we had other shareholders who owned a lot of shares .”
Worthington said through banking he became very “ plugged-in ” to local society , very active in clubs and on various boards — Lions Club , PTA , Friends of the Library , the Parker County Sheriff ’ s Posse , etc .
Jo Worthington , too , was active and played an important role at the bank .
“ Jo and Helen Brogdon Shipley established the Peaches Club at our bank when we opened in 1984 ,” Worthington said . “ Women in Weatherford , if they wanted to be a member of the Peaches Club , had to put $ 5,000 in our bank and maintain that . Many , many women in town wanted to be a member . My wife and Helen took those women all over the world — Bangkok , China , Costa Rica , Canada , Mexico , France , Ireland , Italy , Japan , London and Scotland , and to many of the Caribbean Islands .” They also took them to many cities in the U . S .
“ We had 11 good years with Weatherford National Bank , a lot of good directors and good employees that helped make the bank a success ,” Worthington said . “ Then we sold the bank to First Financial Bank Shares out of Abilene . We took stock instead of money .”
He served on First Financial ’ s holding company board for about six years and on the Weatherford bank ’ s board , as well .
“ I stayed on for a year after they bought us in 1995 as president , CEO and chairman ,” he said . “ At 75 they want you to retire . So I retired off those boards when I was 75 .”
With retirement came new adventures for Walter and Jo Worthington . They decided to try their hand down Mexico way . “ We went to Cabo San Lucas and started building houses ,” said Worthington . “ We actually started going out to Cabo in about 1990 , stayed in hotels , bought a time-share or two . Then we bought a condo , remodeled it and sold it .”
Next the Worthingtons bought land adjoining the condo and built three houses , two of which they sold and one that they kept for themselves to enjoy over the years .
“ Sammy Hagar , if you know him , his house is right next to ours — one vacant lot between his and ours ,” Worthington said . “ I met him one time and told him I was his neighbor . He had a cute little girl with him , but she ’ s grown now .”
Near the end of the interview , Worthington said the Lord has blessed him with a long and wonderful life , which of course includes his family . The Worthingtons have three children : Mark , 64 — “ a real cowboy all his life ” who with wife Dottie owns Worthington Realty and Investments ; Brookes , 62 — “ a good banker ” who also played on the Baylor Bears team that upset the Texas Longhorns in 1974 to win conference “ The Miracle on the Brazos ”; and Jan [ Reid ], 56 — “ a wonderful mother .”
The grandchildren are also near and dear and number seven .
Son Mark and wife Dottie have two children , Bree and Brooke . Bree is a well-known trick rider who owns and shows buffaloes at rodeos and other events across the state , while Brooke has modeled and works as a realtor with Worthington Realty and Investments .
Son Brookes and wife Michelle also have two children — son Briley , who is operations manager for Equistar Construction and Design Inc . in Weatherford , and daughter Brooklyn who with her husband Dan McIntosh own and operate Warbonnet Hat Works . Michelle had a son , R . J . Ware , when she and Brookes married . He ’ s from a long and well-known line of house movers .
Jan and husband Steve Reid ’ s three children include Jake , who works in sales at Jerry ’ s Chevrolet , Sam , who works in the restaurant sector , and daughter Shae , a mother and homemaker .
The Worthingtons have five greatgrandchildren .
Still “ sharp as a tack ” at 90 , Worthington remembers much from his long life and witnessed the many changes the past nine decades wrought .
“ When I was a kid in Jacksboro everybody came to town on Saturday ,” he recalled . “ Jacksboro just had ranchers , and they came on Saturdays to get their groceries and such . And would you believe we had hitching posts in those days ; and though we had cars then , the majority of the people came in wagons and on horseback . That was when I was just a little kid , 5 years old .”
Doors were left unlocked in those days , he said , and promiscuity was not the norm . Society was more chaste . “ In my class , there weren ’ t any girls having relations with boys in those days — they just didn ’ t do that . Of course you know how it is now .” He ’ s noted changes in attitudes toward religion as well . “ People don ’ t seem to be as zealous as we used to be about church .”
“ And you know , in those days a handshake was all you needed . Integrity was very important . If a guy told you he was going to do something and shook your hand , he was going to do it .”
That ’ s just the kind of man Walter Fant Worthington strikes one as — someone who over the long haul has kept his integrity intact .
FEBRUARY 2017 PARKER COUNTY TODAY
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