By Linus Joseph Dewald Jr., Editor
Spring 2004 and Revised 31 Jan2004
Update of 31 Jan 2004: Thayer Prentice is a descendant of Reuben C. Prentice, discussed in our Summer 2000 Prentice Newsletter at Reuben C. Prentice of Bradford, PA . That earlier article now replaces this article,
Original Article: 1. Unknown Prentice. He had at least 3 children:
- Thayer Thomas Prentice, b. 19 Mar 1938, Bradford, PA. . . . . . . . . [2]
- Janet Prentice. She m. Mr. McCord and lives in Leesburg, FL.
- Jeff Prentice of Bradford, Pa.
2. Thayer Thomas Prentice was b. 19 Mar 1938 in Bradford, PA and d. 28 Nov 2003. He m. Anne. His Obituary in the 9 Dec 2003 Sacramento Bee reads as follows:
"Obituary: 'Integrity, success' marked career of capital bankerd, by Edgar Sanchez -- Bee Staff Writer.
Thayer Prentice, a main founder of Point West Bank of Sacramento, believed in customer service. Under his leadership, the bank went from total assets of $5 million in 1980 to $164 million eight years later, when it was acquired by First Interstate Bank. "Thayer was the kind of banker who went beyond the numbers," said his friend and former co-worker, Bill Martin, president and chief executive officer of the Bank of Sacramento. "He took the time to understand the customers."
Mr. Prentice died of a heart attack Nov. 28, while visiting relatives in Colorado Springs, Colo., for the Thanksgiving weekend. He was 65. Since 1997, Mr. Prentice and his wife, Anne, lived in Irish Beach, Mendocino County. "My father was very proud of his banking career, yet he was humble," said his daughter, Julie Vrattos. "He was in banking more for the love of people than he was for the actual banking portion of it."
Mr. Prentice's greatest quality was his honesty, Martin said. "In the era of the Enrons and the Tycos and all the crooks in business, Thayer Prentice stood out when it came to fair play, fair dealing and integrity," Martin said. Mr. Prentice demonstrated that "integrity and success can co-exist," he said.
Thayer Thomas Prentice was born in Bradford, Pa., in 1938. He attended Franklin and Marshall College in his home state before enrolling at the University of Washington's Pacific Coast Banking School in Seattle. Mr. Prentice began his banking career as a clerk for Bradford National Bank in 1957. In 1960, he came West, spending the next four years working for various banks in Southern California. In 1964, Mr. Prentice moved to Ceres, where he became an operations manager for the local branch of the Bank of California. Four years later, he was transferred from Bank of California's Tahoe City branch to Sacramento, where he became manager of its main bank downtown.
At Bank of California, Mr. Prentice cultivated a loyal clientele. Many of them switched banks when he left Bank of California to become the main founder of Point West Bank in 1980. His bank specialized in meeting the needs of small and medium-sized businesses. "Thayer had a great love for this city and its business community," Martin said. "He saw that the large national banks of the time were getting more centralized either in San Francisco or Los Angeles, and local decisions were being made in those cities rather than here. "So that motivated him to open Point West Bank, which was locally managed and locally owned," Martin said.
From the day it opened until it was bought by First Interstate, Mr. Prentice was president and CEO of Point West Bank. After the merger, Mr. Prentice became a regional manager for First Interstate Bank. Martin, a Point West Bank executive since 1986, also was hired by First Interstate Bank. In 1991, both men were recruited by the Bank of San Francisco to open a Sacramento branch of that bank. Mr. Prentice was hired as vice chairman of the board of the Bank of San Francisco. In 1993, after having lived in San Francisco for about two years, Mr. Prentice returned to Sacramento as CEO of CapitolBank. In 1994, he engineered its sale to Westamerica Bankcorporation.
Mr. Prentice was a longtime board member of the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce. He also served on the advisory board of the Salvation Army from 1980 to 1996. Thayer Prentice
Remembered for: Founding Point West Bank, his work for the community and love of family. Survived by: Wife, Anne Prentice of Irish Beach; daughters Diane Brown of Colorado Springs, Colo., Lynne Hopper of Fort Bragg and Julie Vrattos of Lincoln. Also sister Janet McCord of Leesburg, Fla. and brother Jeff Prentice of Bradford, Pa., and six grandchildren."
Children of Thayer and Anne Prentice:
- Diane Prentice. She m. Mr. Brown and lives in Colorado Springs, CO.
- Lynne Prentice. She m. Mr. Hopper and lives in Fort Bragg, CA.
- Julie Prentice. She m Mr. Vrattos and lives in Lincoln, Placer Co., CA.
A check of the 1930 census shows only 1 family living in Bradford, McKean Co. PA. It is the family of George Prentice, b. c. 1902, PA, (both parents born in PA) and his wife, Ulla?, b. c. 1903, (father b. in Germany and mother b. in NY). Daughter of George and (Ulla?):
- Vincinetta Prentice (dau.), b. c. 1919, PA
George Prentice appears in the 1920 Bradford census with his mother, Nancy Prentice who was b. c. 1873, PA. A search of the 1900 Bradford census does not disclose any Prentice families.
Further investigation is needed to determine whether this is the correct family.
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