H. Stephen Chase

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H. Stephen Chase
President of Wells Fargo Bank
In office
1964–1966
Preceded byRansom M. Cook
Succeeded byRichard P. Cooley
Personal details
Born
Howard Stephen Chase

(1903-01-16)January 16, 1903
San Jose, California
DiedOctober 15, 1969(1969-10-15) (aged 66)
Vienna, Austria
Spouse(s)
Mary Bonar
​
​
(m. 1930; his death 1969)​
Children2
Alma materStanford University
Harvard University

Howard Stephen Chase (January 16, 1903 – October 15, 1969) was an American financier who served as president of Wells Fargo.

Early life[]

Chase was born in San Jose, California in 1903, a son of Harold Chase and Kate (née Woody) Chase.[1]

He attended Stanford University, graduating in 1925, followed by the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, where he graduated with a Master of Business Administration in 1927.[2]

Career[]

After graduating from Harvard, he began working at Wells Fargo in 1927.[3] He was named manager of the Santa Rosa branch in 1937, was transferred to Sacramento in 1940 as vice president,[4] appointed senior vice president in San Francisco in 1955 and executive vice president in 1960. In 1963, he was elected to the board of directors.[3] From 1951 to 1958, he also served as a member of the California Highway Commission.

In 1964, Chase became president of Wells Fargo, succeeding Ransom M. Cook who retained the post of chief executive officer and became chairman of the board.[5][6] He served as president of what was then the nation's eleventh largest commercial bank for two years until November 1966 when he was succeed as president by Richard P. Cooley (who later married his eldest daughter) and, in turn, succeeded sixty-seven year-old Cook as chairman of the board.[3] Chase retired on May 31, 1968 after forty-one years with the bank.[1] He was replaced as board chairman by Ernest C. Arbuckle, dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business.[7][8]

Personal life[]

On February 4, 1930, Chase was married to Mary Bonar (1906–1972),[9] a daughter of Reuben Bonar and Lora Lee Bonar (born May 24, 1906).[10][11] Together, they were the parents of two daughters:

  • Judith "Judy" Chase, who married Yale graduate James L. Ludwig (1925–2020), who later became the head of Saks Fifth Avenue, San Francisco,[12] in 1954.[13] After fifteen years, they divorced and she married Chase's successor, Richard P. Cooley.[14][15] They later divorced as well.[16]
  • Stephanie Chase (1934–2017),[17] who married William B. MacColl Jr. in 1958.[1]

Chase died of a heart attack while on vacation in Vienna, Austria on October 15, 1969.[1][4] His widow died in San Francisco on December 29, 1972.[9][18]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d "H. Stephen Chase, Ex-Head Of Wells Fargo' Bank, 66". The New York Times. 17 October 1969. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  2. ^ Alumni Directory and Ten-year Book. Stanford University. 1931. p. 167. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Wells Fargo Bank Fills Top Post". The New York Times. 11 November 1966. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  4. ^ a b "H.S. Chase Succumbs in Vienna". The San Francisco Examiner. 16 October 1969. p. 49. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Wells Fargo Bank Fills Post". The New York Times. 9 October 1964. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Wells Fargo Elects Officer". The New York Times. 9 September 1965. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Stanford Dean Named By Wells Fargo Bank". The New York Times. 13 October 1967. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  8. ^ Davies, Lawrence E. (14 June 1968). "Stanford Dean New Chairman of California Bank". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  9. ^ a b "CHASE, Mary Bonar". The San Francisco Examiner. 1 January 1973. p. 51. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  10. ^ Brown, Dorothy Elizabeth Rine (1969). Bonar Genealogy: Bonar, Boner, Bonnar, Bonner, Bonnor, Bouner, Bowner. 275. Retrieved 9 March 2021.CS1 maint: location (link)
  11. ^ "The Bankers' Who's Who". Indian Business Publications. 1964: 141. Retrieved 9 March 2021. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. ^ "James Ludwig Obituary". The San Francisco Chronicle. September 13, 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  13. ^ "JUDITH CHASE BRIDE OF JAMES J. LUDWIG". The New York Times. 17 May 1954. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Banker Cooley Awaits Decree". The San Francisco Examiner. 12 February 1971. p. 19.
  15. ^ "Richard Cooley Obituary". The Seattle Times. October 30, 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  16. ^ "Bombshell news". The Honolulu Advertiser. 31 July 1978. p. 15. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  17. ^ "Stephanie MacColl Obituary". San Francisco Chronicle. March 9, 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  18. ^ "Mary Bonar Chase Services Are Set For SF Wednesday". The Sacramento Bee. 31 December 1972. p. 6. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
Business positions
Preceded by President of Wells Fargo
1964–1966 		Succeeded by
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