Independent Banker - November 2022 - 81

A life in community banking
John V. Anderson celebrates 75 years in community banking this year. The chairman
emeritus of F&M Bank offers us a glimpse of his life, his career and the lessons he's learned
along the way. By Molly Bennett
H
ow do you capture a life in
1,000 words? The answer: with
difficulty. And when that life takes in
the Great Depression, World War II
and 75 years in community banking,
the challenge becomes more acute.
But here goes nothing.
John V. Anderson, who is 95, is
chairman emeritus of F&M Bank in
Crescent, Okla. Since buying it 50
years ago, he has watched it grow
from a single-branch community
bank to one with nine locations across
the state and $650 million in assets.
His three sons and one daughter
are all involved in the 100% familyowned
business, as are three of
his grandchildren.
" And I've got great-grandchildren
now that are beginning to drive cars,
so that's the next wave that wants a
job, " he laughs.
Anderson's family ties have
always been strong. He was born
into a farming family in Choctaw,
Okla., in 1927. His father's family,
members of the Citizens Potawatomi
Nation, farmed corn and cotton, and
his mother came from a produce
farming family.
When Anderson was three, his
father lost his job at the local utility
company. " We had to skimp and
save, " he says. " We picked cotton,
and we chopped cotton and corn. We
didn't have a car, so we had to walk
out to the fields. That made such an
impression on me. So, every job I've
had, I would do the best job I could. "
In 1945, right after high school, he
enlisted in the Navy, finishing boot
camp right as the U.S. dropped the
bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
He was stationed on an aircraft
carrier and took part in Operation
Magic Carpet, which saw U.S. troops
collecting armed forces personnel
from various Pacific islands and
dropping them off at San Diego or
Pearl Harbor. " We were a part of a
really joyful time, because everybody
was coming home, " Anderson says.
Name:
F&M Bank
Assets:
$650 million
Location:
Crescent, Okla.
The banking adventure begins
After he was discharged, he worked at
a utility company before taking a job
at Liberty National Bank in Oklahoma
City in 1947. There, he worked his
way up from messenger to teller to
the correspondence department. The
latter is where he met his wife, Jo
Laverne, who is 93.
" She worked about 10 feet from
me ... and I thought she was a pretty
good-looking girl. I'd shoot a rubber
band back there once in a while just
to get her attention, " he laughs. The
couple celebrated their 73rd wedding
anniversary in September.
" In these 75 years,
I've made a lot of
friends. I just did
the best I could at
whatever job I had. "
-JOHN V. ANDERSON, F&M BANK
But back to 1972. That year,
Anderson was senior vice president
of operations at Liberty when one of
his industry connections, J.R. Gibson,
who owned F&M Bank in Crescent,
Okla., told Anderson he was looking
to sell due to health problems.
" He said, 'If you are interested,
you'd be my first choice,' " Anderson
says. " I said, 'J.R., let me tell you that
I don't have any money, I have no net
worth and I have no secondary source
of income. But I'll see what I can do.' "
Anderson went to some colleagues
at Liberty National Bank, and they
agreed to consider loaning him
the $548,000 he needed-about
$4 million today. " And I thought, if
you make me a loan, you're probably
the worst loan officers I've ever run
into, " he laughs. " But anyhow, they
made that loan. "
Anderson says that when one of
the presidents at Liberty heard about
the loan, he said, " Let me tell you
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