Dacus, CU veteran, passes; co-founded first FCU

<p>FORT WORTH, Texas – James “Jimmy” Dacus, credit union veteran for nearly 70 years, passed away Feb. 17. He was 90 years old. Dacus “discovered” credit unions during the Depression Era of the early 1930′s. He helped form a credit union in Houston, and in October 1934 he traveled to Fort Worth and was appointed recording secretary at the organizational meeting of the Texas Credit Union League. At about the same time, he was recruited by Claude Orchard, who worked for Edward Filene, to help organize CUs. The two helped organize the Morris Sheppard Federal Credit Union in Texarkana, the first federal credit union in the U.S. While working at the behest of Filene and Orchard, Dacus eventually organized more than 160 CUs, principally in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. Dacus eventually discontinued working with the credit union movement to begin work on another Filene social program – pre-paid health insurance. After WWI, during which Dacus served in the U.S. Navy where he rose to the rank of Commander, Dacus settled in Texas and was a successful agriculture businessman. He remained interested in credit unions though, and he attended the Texas League’s 50th anniversary in 1984 and its annual meeting in Fort Worth in 1996. Funeral services were held Feb. 21.</p>