George Singleton

George Hawley Singleton, born October 9, 1936, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, passed away July 23, 2015. At a young age, he moved to Dallas with his parents Gertrude Robinson & Marvin E. Singleton, Jr. where he attended St. Mark's School. He graduated from Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. After graduation, Singleton attended the University of Texas for 2 years and then entered the United States Army where he served in Orleans, France in the IBM Department of his division. While in France, George married Shirley Klindworth of Dallas on March 15, 1958. Upon discharge from the service, he re-entered the University of Texas and received his degree in Banking and Finance. For two years after graduation, he was employed by IBM Corporation in Dallas. On October 15, 1962 George came to work at Citizens National Bank. He installed the data processing system in the bank and progressed to form his own company with Shirley. Western Data Services, Inc. provided data processing for counties, appraisal districts, cities and schools including their appraisals, taxation and voter registration. In 1987, George followed the Singleton legacy and took the role of bank president. He held that position until 1993 when he proudly passed it to the fourth generation in his son Mark. At the time of his death, George was CNB of Texas Chairman of the Board and remained a wealth of knowledge for the CNB family. George served on the Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce board of directors from 1975 to 1977 and was awarded the Outstanding Citizen of the Year in 1993. In 2006, he was named the Most Influential Person in Ellis County. George is preceded in death by his wife Shirley, their daughter Shannon E. Singleton, his parents, and his in-laws Lawrence W. Klindworth & Lauretta E. Vilbig. Survivors include his son Marvin E. "Mark" Singleton, III, daughter in-law, Dr. Stephanie J. Singleton, grandson M.E. "Meson" Singleton, IV, granddaughters Mallory E. and Shelby J. Singleton, sisters Annis Buell with husband Tommy and Robin Cloyd with husband Marshall, brother in-law L.W."Bill" Klindworth, II with wife Sandy, numerous nieces and nephews, and long-time best friend Scott Montgomery. George was a commanding figure in the board room and when leading CNB, but he was at ease and happiest when he was hunting, fishing, and flying. He loved weekend trips to his ranch and was the faithful deer hunter season after season. George had a kinship with "man's best friend." He loved dogs, and many people have heard him frequently say one of the world's problems is there's too many people and not enough dogs. Employees and customers of the bank will remember his Norwegian elk hound, Thor, who was a constant companion at home and in his office. George was a pilot and spent countless hours flying the skies over Texas for work and play. His pilot's license started as a necessity with Western Data where he traveled among the county seats of Texas. But these trips quickly led to a life-long pleasure. His memories and stories of planes and flying were frequent even to his final days. George was a generous man and his position at CNB of Texas gave him the opportunity to help countless people. For the community, he was tirelessly dedicated to the Singleton Scholarship to empower local young people through education. For his customers, he counseled them in good financial decisions and encouraged business. For his employees, he helped build what could be called the CNB Family. As with all families you find brothers and sisters aplenty, but George was its patriarch with wisdom, strength and wholehearted devotion. A memorial service to celebrate George's life will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, July 27, 2015 at The Avenue Church of Waxahachie, with Dr. Joe Langley officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the M.E. Singleton Scholarship Trust; please visit www.singletonscholarship.org.

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