Scotty Probasco

Early life

Scotty Probasco was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee on November 26, 1928. His family has been involved in banking for ten generations. His grandfather, Harry Scott Probasco (1858-1919), founded the American National Bank, and his father, Scott L. Probasco, Sr. (1890-1962), founded SunTrust Banks. Probasco had said that the "Probasco" family were originally Jews from Madrid, Spain who immigrated to the Netherlands and converted to Protestantism; then in the 1600s, they immigrated to the U.S. Both his father and grandfather attended the First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga, and were devout followers of Christ.

Probasco attended the Baylor School, where he played on the golf team. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Dartmouth College and attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Career

Probasco considered becoming a preacher, but joined the family business instead. He served as the Chair of the Executive Committee of SunTrust Bank in Chattanooga. He served on the Board of Directors as well as the Audit and Compensation Committees of Chattem, a Chattanooga-based producer and marketer of over-the-counter healthcare products, toiletries, dietary supplements, topical analgesics, and medicated skin care products.

Philanthropy

Probasco sat on the Board of Trustees of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga as well as its UTC Alumni Council, UT Development Council, and UT Foundation. He has also supported the UT chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He endowed the Probasco Chair of Free Enterprise at UT, currently held by Jeff Ray Clark. He received the UTC Alumni Board's Outstanding Service Award.

Probasco also donated to the Baylor School, the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, the Chattanooga-based Benwood Foundation, Bethel Bible Village, a crisis center for neglected, abused and in-crisis children based in Hixson, Tennessee, the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, and the United Way of Greater Chattanooga. He supported Republican Bill Haslam's gubernatorial campaign in 2010.

Personal life and death

Probasco was married to Betty Rowland Probasco, a.k.a. Betty Probasco, and they resided in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, a suburb of Chattanooga. They met at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club in 1953. His wife was an avid golfer and a former executive at the Women's Southern Golf Association. They had four children:

Probasco's sister, Alice Probasco, was married to the late John T. Lupton II, the heir to the JLT Corporation, Coca-Cola's largest bottler until he sold it to the Coca-Cola Enterprises for US$1.4 billion in 1986. Scotty Probasco was known for wearing bowties and smoking Honduran cigars. He died on April 17, 2015.