Celebrating HERSTORY: Broadway Bank’s co-founder Betty Cheever

From schoolteacher to business owner to community heroine, the story of Betty Cheever includes turmoil and triumphs that drove the success of one of the largest independently owned banks in Texas.

As an entrepreneur and trailblazer, Broadway Bank co-founder Elizabeth “Betty” Cheever paved the way for women business leaders. Her role and contributions to the bank’s inception and business decisions thereafter were pivotal in Broadway’s success then and today.

Her story continues to inspire us to pursue our dreams and make a positive impact in our communities. We're honored to share Betty’s story, continue her legacy and build upon her extraordinary work.

The early years

Even as a young girl growing up in Boston, Massachusetts, education and determination were strong components of Betty’s personality. She earned a college degree, which was uncommon for women to have at that time.

Charles E. Cheever had been introduced to his wife, Betty Daley, while working at the Boston Public Library. Before founding the bank, he had educated himself about the financial industry by spending nights and weekends reading everything he could find on the subject. He was only 15 years old when he landed his first paying job at 20 cents an hour as a part-time assistant librarian at the Boston Public Library. He always had pleasant memories of that job because it was there that he met his future bride. The two were introduced by Betty’s older sister, Agnes, who worked with Charlie in the library. It was within the walls of books and literature that their partnership and romance began.

They were married and started building a family. But it was when the Cheever family transferred to San Antonio that the idea of a local financial institution became their passion. At this time, Charlie was an Army captain and judge advocate stationed at Fort Sam Houston and Betty was a schoolteacher. Both were excited about their recent transfer to San Antonio. For the first time in the family’s life with the military, Betty saw the dollar stretch farther in the Alamo City than anywhere else.

The native Bostonians were so impressed with the city, climate and quality of life that they, like so many others in the Army, decided to make San Antonio their retirement home. It was then that they began to plan for the future. The couple often took evening walks through the Alamo Heights area surrounding their Carnahan Avenue home after putting their children, Charlie Jr. and Jane, to bed. It was during those leisurely strolls through the quiet Alamo Heights neighborhood in 1937 that Charlie came up with the idea that the area needed a bank.

Banking was inconvenient for their local community because all the banks in San Antonio were located downtown. They identified the real need for a financial institution to serve the hundreds of military families who had migrated to San Antonio because of World War II, and the businesses that would serve those new residents.

But the Army officer’s idea of a bank in Alamo Heights was met with an instant, negative reaction, Betty later recalled. He talked to officers at The National Bank of Fort Sam Houston, where he was a depositor, and while “they thought it had possibilities, they weren’t enthusiastic.”

“They were kind of skeptical about it being successful. It had never been done before,” Betty said. “I don’t think they felt a stranger coming in town, with no experience, no money and no background in banking, would ever be successful.” Ignoring the skepticism, Cheever’s confidence and enthusiasm won over some Alamo Heights businessmen and Army officers who put up the money to open the new facility.

Their dreams turned into reality at 9 a.m. February 15, 1941, as crowds of curious Alamo Heights residents streamed into the small storefront at 5044 Broadway. With only five employees, around $60,000 in capital, and just $652,000 in assets, Colonel Charles E. Cheever and Betty Cheever founded Broadway National Bank in the suburbs of Alamo Heights.

Betty takes charge

Like most military men, Charles E. Cheever’s sojourn in San Antonio was soon interrupted. Col. Cheever was called away in early 1944 to accompany the 3rd Army staff to England to prepare for the invasion of Europe. Meanwhile, Betty ran the bank alongside a board of directors until her husband returned from abroad. In January 1945, Betty was elected vice president. It was a challenging time for the bank because many of the bank’s customers were in the military and had been shipped overseas, so the default rate skyrocketed for auto loans, savings deposits dropped and some board of directors were getting uneasy. Mrs. Cheever’s leadership was the “glue” that held the bank together through this tumultuous time.

The founders' son and former Chairman of Broadway Bancshares Inc., Charles E. “Charlie” Cheever Jr., remembers the bank’s modest beginnings as "a very difficult period." Betty, in her son’s words, was left "to hold things together" at home and at the bank, serving on the board of directors until her husband returned. Already a natural leader and community role model, Betty successfully ran the bank and the family through wartime turmoil.

With Col. Cheever in Europe battling the Nazis in World War II, Broadway’s board of directors and bank management were concerned about the future of the bank. News of increased overdrafts and losses caused emergency meetings with the director and majority stockholder, Betty Cheever. Luckily the board had a contingency plan. With Betty’s leadership and help from the board, the team was able to turn things around and restore the bank’s strains and reputation. Even when pressured to close the bank and cut its losses, Betty stood determined and optimistic for the future. Her grit paid off.

Celebrating 50 years

While other banks were failing around the country, Broadway Bank had not just survived but had soared since its tenuous beginnings. When the bank turned 50, it reached new milestones and set new bank records. Broadway’s solid performance wasn’t the universal norm. But Broadway garnered praise for its longevity, its continued growth and its commitment to San Antonio, particularly to education.

In keeping with Broadway’s long history of being an active corporate citizen, the bank made an anniversary contribution to the San Antonio Education Partnership Fund. This contribution honored the legacy of both bank co-founders, Col. Charles and Betty Cheever as lifelong champions of education and unrelenting cheerleaders for the younger generation.

The importance of education is a constant in the history of the Cheever family and Broadway Bank. Betty Cheever had worked as a teacher, and she never stopped encouraging people to learn. The Broadway Scholarships, of which Betty Cheever was particularly proud, were a result of the family’s recognition of the importance of education to individuals as well as to the community and nation.

Happy 100th Birthday, Betty

Betty Cheever celebrated her 100th birthday on June 1, 1996. Betty’s behind-the-scenes influence on the bank was profound. For starters, she had virtually single-handedly snatched the then-fledgling bank from the jaws of failure while her husband was away serving in World War II. The product of a tough upbringing in Boston, Betty Cheever would throughout her long life demonstrate a steely determination and constant drive for self-improvement. Her respect for education and adherence to doing the right thing simply because it was the right there to do were her mantra. Her granddaughter Suzanne Cheever Goudge noted, she was “a wellness person before there were wellness programs.” As an early promoter of the importance of diet and exercise, “back then she was thought of as being a lousy cook because she didn’t use salt,” her son said. “But she lived to be almost 101. She was a tough gal, and she was tough right up to the end.”

When circumstances required a firm matriarchal hand, the petite Betty Cheever delivered. At 100, Betty Cheever still kept an eye on the bank she had co-founded and remained interested in business trends and opportunities. Her grandson Christopher Cheever recalled a visit during which “she told me that she was reading something on GEICO Insurance and that she wished she had bought some (stock). She and my grandfather had met the owners, former employees of USAA, way back when, and she was analyzing it from a business perspective. I thought that was kind of funny; my 99-year-old grandmother was talking about stocks and stuff like that. She was a little Irish Bostonian firecracker, and just stayed very, very involved right up to the end.”

When she died on April 22, 1997, at age 100, just a month shy of her 101st birthday, Betty Cheever’s long legacy of social and community contributions were lauded in San Antonio and far beyond. And her fearlessness, strength of character and practical nature were embedded in the large and robust family she left behind.

As a mother, grandmother and community advocate, many were deeply impacted by the loss of Betty Cheever. Legions of friends and admirers miss her today and continue to honor her legacy.

Former Broadway Banker Pamela K. Parish refers to Betty Cheever as one of her heroines. “Back in 1941 when the bank was founded, women were not accepted into leadership roles, especially in banking,” Pamela said. “But Betty Cheever kept Broadway Bank going, even when the regulators were tough on her, and even while all the men who knew banking, including her husband, were serving in the war. She was a truly remarkable woman.”

In fact, Betty's passion for education is still reflected today in the bank's Care Corps employee volunteer program, which has a focus on serving hundreds of non-profit projects in the communities within the bank’s footprint. Each year, the Broadway Bank Care Corps program and the bank’s Community Reinvestment team partner with schools, education-based organizations and scholarship programs to gift monetary donations, participate in school supplies drives and award scholarships to deserving students.

Honoring Betty’s legacy

Today, Broadway is one of the largest independently owned banks in San Antonio, and it has numerous banking locations across San Antonio, Austin, the Hill Country and beyond. We believe it is through our rich history, the Cheever family legacy and our talented workforce of Broadway Bankers, that this institution has established a reputation of good banking that is 82 years strong.

Broadway Bank proudly celebrates all women who have made a difference in the world and thanks Betty for her lasting contributions to our organization and community. 

Excerpts of this article come from Here For Good by Joan M. Cheever with Sharon J. Armstrong, the 2016 publication of the Broadway Bank story.

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