In Memoriam: Frank Reilly, 92

30 Years at Chase Manhattan, Retiring as SVP; Former ABA President

 
 

Frank Robert Reilly III, a former Senior Vice President at Chase Manhattan, died on March 24, 2024. He was 92.

 

Born and raised in West Orange, NJ, he attended Fordham University on a ROTC scholarship. Upon graduation in 1954, he married and embarked on the married life of a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, which took him and his wife first to Ft. Bliss, El Paso, TX, and then on to Ft. Dix, NJ.

 

After his military service, Reilly, his wife and their four children moved to Schenectady, NY, where Reilly worked for General Electric. Later, he joined the Chase Manhattan Bank Credit Training Program and earned a his MBA from New York University. During this time, the family made stops in the Bronx, Eastchester, NY, finally landing in Scarsdale, NY, where they raised their family and were actively engaged in the Immaculate Heart of Mary School community. 

 

Reilly enjoyed great success at Chase Manhattan, focusing on international lending. Rising through the ranks, he became the General Manager of Chase’s United Kingdom’s operations and the President of the American Bankers Association. Electing early retirement as a Senior Vice President, Reilly and his wife  in 1990, moved to Baltimore, MD, in 1990, where he became Assistant Director of the Baltimore Zoo and an adjunct professor of business at Loyola Baltimore’s graduate school. 

 

The Reillys were actively involved in charitable and civic organizations, including leading food drives, PTA Presidents, Appalachian parishes, foster parents and Fresh Air hosts, naming only a few. 

 

Reilly became an avid and skilled photographer, a licensed hot air balloonist, an accomplished woodworker, wine maker, sailor and Morris Minor restorer. He was also a man of letters who engaged in extensive reading and had an encyclopedic memory of the Civil War battles and its leading actors. 

 

He will be known for his love of practical jokes and for his rendition of the whimsical song "Man in the Moon", which he ended with a crowd-pleasing “Ba-Ba-Ba-Boom.” 

 

In 2009, the Reillys left Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and moved to Mercy Ridge in Timonium, MD.

 

In 2018, his wife died after 64 years of marriage. Among Reilly's survivors are four children, 10 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.  

 

John Hehir sent this cover page from a January/February 1986 issue of the Chase Metropolitan Community Bank's The Community Banker, featuring a photo of Frank Reilly with bewigged comedian Tim Conway. At the time, Reilly was Senior Vice President of Chase's Commercial Banking Group.

Remembrances
 
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From John Hehir: I am really sorry to hear of Frank’s passing. I met him in 1970 when we were both part of the Western Hemisphere Banking Group reporting to Francis Mason. He was my first real mentor, and we stayed in touch periodically ever since.I visited with him in London and at the zoo in Baltimore. Frank was one of the nicest people you would ever want to meet. He and his wife were also avid antique collectors. They had an extensive collection of meat grinders which were on the shelves in the kitchen of their Scarsdale house. God bless you Frank – you will be missed. (See image of the article Hehir sent in at the bottom of the In Memoriam.)
 
From Debra Decker: I worked with Frank in the late 1970s/early 1980' in developing a strategic plan for Chase in the UK, operations he ably headed at the time. Frank Reilly was kind, smart and supportive, and inspired excellence in performance. I was lucky to have worked with him and my Europe bosses, Yoram Kinberg and Bob Hunter. It was a great team working in a difficult time when we had to find ways to make money beyond traditional corporate loans. I know we did – or at least that's how I remember the times and will remember Frank. 
 
From Jeremy (Jumbo) Jewitt: I remember Frank as a very genial and positive Chase Manhattan UK GeneralManager in the late 1970s. He had the challenging task of succeeding the charismatic Jeff Cunningham, and brought his quiet and efficient management style to bear effectively on the market and operational issues facing us in the difficult economic conditions in the UK. That we came out of those times in relatively good shape is testament to his capabilities.
     As a young relationship manager in the UK Corporate Bank, I appreciated his encouragement and understanding.
     My sympathies to his family.