ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.–Rex Johnson, who pioneered expanded lending strategies by credit unions as both a CEO and with his own company, has died. Mr. Johnson was 77.
“For more than 40 years, Rex brought his unique brand of leadership and passion to the credit union industry, sharing his lending knowledge with thousands of credit unions along the way,” said the company Johnson founded, Lending Solutions, Inc., in a statement.
Johnson founded Baxter Credit Union in Illinois (BCU) in 1981 and oversaw membership to 72,000 and assets of more than $300 million. He was named the Illinois Credit Union Executive of the year in 1986 at BCU.
Johnson started Lending Solutions, Inc. (LSI) in 1994 and LSCI in 2000. He authored four best-selling books and lending videos and was elected to the Illinois Credit Union Hall of Fame and CUES Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2017 Rex received CUNA’s prestigious Phil Greer Lifetime Achievement Award from the CUNA Lending Council.
A Simple Message
“Rex’s message was simple – ‘Help people by seeing what no one else sees’ – his mantra from the movie Patch Adams,” said LSI.
The company noted In December 2018, LSCI hosted a celebratory University of Lending, Rex’s flagship training school in Las Vegas to commemorate his retirement. The school featured keynote speaker, Hunter Doherty "Patch" Adams, the physician and social activist on which the movie is based.
“There’s no one in the industry who embodied the people helping people spirit of credit unions more than Rex,” said Mike Valentine, president and CEO at BCU. “There are so many things Rex taught me and countless other credit union leaders that I will never forget. He encouraged us to take what we do seriously, but to have fun and never take ourselves too seriously. In the age of automated loan decisioning, he also reminded us that everyone has a story. Be a great listener, show empathy, do the right thing and members will reward you with their loyalty. I’m extremely humbled and honored to have learned so much from him.”
Lorrie Wohlfeil, Johnson’s daughter and COO at LSCI added, “My father changed how credit unions lend and interact with members. His tireless efforts for 40 years to promote serving members and filling credit unions with passion has also changed the way they do business. His message of ‘seeing what no one else sees’ will continue to steer the credit union movement to a better place. We could not be more motivated to continue to grow his legacy.”
Building on Legacy
The company said Connie Johnson, Rex’s wife of 55 years, his children, along with the employees of LSCI, are committed to building on Rex’s message through this family-owned business in the years ahead.
“True to form, Rex kept fighting until the very end,” LSI said. “His passion in his later years was to ensure that no one else suffer from PPA/Alzheimer’s, donating his brain to help scientists find a cure for this dreadful disease. For a boy that grew up in the little town of Pink Hill, North Carolina, he traveled the world and touched the lives of countless individuals. He did it the only way he knew how – his way.”
In lieu of flowers, the company said donations can be made to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund at https://curealz.org.