North  
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 Laureate
John F. Watlington, Jr. (March 23,1911 - May 31, 1999)
Inducted 1993
   Born in Reidsville, NC, on March 23, 1911, John F. Watlington Jr. built an enviable career in banking with the Wachovia Bank. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa  and valedictorian from Washington & Lee University in 1933.		     




   
 Junior Achievement		    He joined Wachovia Bank & Trust immediately after graduation and worked in various positions at the Winston-Salem office. He then served 17 years in Charlotte where he was named senior executive.
   Watlington was elected president and chief executive officer in 1956. Wachovia surrendered its state charter for a national charter in 1968 and formed its bank holding company, The Wachovia Corporation, with Watlington as chairman and CEO.
   During Watlington's tenure, the bank recorded 21 years of record growth and expansion, established a national and international presence and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
   He retired on December 31, 1976, although he continued to serve as a director until 1982.
   Among his activities, he was vice chairman of the National Municipal League, president of the North Carolina Citizens Association, head of the Winston-Salem and Charlotte Chambers of Commerce and a member on many boards and commissions.
   He was president of the board for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation, as well as chairman the board for Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. He was involved and supported numerous educational institutions, including Duke Univeristy, Union Theological Seminary, the United Negro College Fund and the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges.
   He received honorary doctorate degrees from William & Mary and Wake Forest universities. He served as chairman (1978 - 1987) of the Presbyterian Church in the United States Foundation. He was inducted into the North Carolina Business Hall of Fame in 1993. 
   He was married to Margaret Jones Watlington. They had a daughter, Anne W. Curtis, of Memphis, Tenn.; and a son, John F. Watlington III, of Richmond.

 

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