Marshall Sloane, founder and chairman of Medford-based Century Bank, died on Saturday at the age of 92.
Sloane launched Century Bank’s first branch out of a trailer in Medford in 1969 and grew his family-owned company into one of the largest community banks in Massachusetts, with more than $5.1 billion in assets and 27 branches in 19 different cities.
The bank also made national headlines when it became the first publicly known bank in Massachusetts to begin banking medical marijuana businesses.
While Sloane’s son Barry took over as president and CEO roughly a decade ago, and his daughter Linda is executive vice president, Sloane continued to work at the bank well into his 90s.
“Marshall Sloane was much more than the visionary architect of Century Bank,” Barry and Linda said in a statement on Century Bank’s website. “He was our dad. As we mourn his passing, we celebrate the close and loving relationship he had with his family. He taught us the value of working hard, doing the right thing and serving the community, He always wanted the bank he founded to live long beyond his generation – and he insisted we do it in a way he would be proud of. Dad’s wisdom, compassion, generosity and kindness will be remembered by his family, the thousands of employees who worked at Century over the past 50 years, and the countless people whose lives he touched over his long and extraordinary life.”
Sloane was honored for his charitable contributions to the community on numerous occasions.
He received the Shining Example Award from Regis College for his lifetime charitable work in the Greater Boston area in October 2017. Sloane and his wife Barbara were awarded the Justice and Compassion Award from the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Boston in 2013 for their extensive philanthropic contributions including their support of social service organizations, nonprofit healthcare providers and educational foundations throughout the community.
Services for Sloane will be held at Temple Israel in Boston on Wednesday at 11 a.m. There will be a memorial observance at Century’s Medford headquarters on Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m.
