In 1912 in Lynden, Washington, a little Dutch community not far from Vancouver, British Columbia, a daughter was born to Abraham and Agatha Bauman. Her name was Clara. Mr. Bauman sold John Deere farm equipment and owned a Maxwell auto dealership in a building he built in 1913 that today houses the museum in Lynden. Five years earlier, in Tucumcari, New Mexico, the descendent of a family who traces their history to a Royal Spanish land grant had been born. His name was John Whitmore. This is the story of how these two remarkable people met in Dallas, Texas and how their long, successful marriage and careers led to an important lecture series at Baylor College of Medicine and the founding of a very unique chair for the holder of the Baylor presidency.
During this time the future Mrs. Whitmore took two memorable trips. The first one was to London aboard the then largest ship in the World, the Queen Mary. Clara was in London about the time of Prime Minister Chamberlain's visit with Hitler. As a result of war rumors, she received a cable to return to the Queen Mary for an early return to America. Frantically, she tried to find a cab to take her to the docks located a good hour's drive from downtown London. Finally, an Englishman stopped to ask her if he could be of assistance. Upon hearing of her plight, Tom Fudge took Clara to the boat. You can't forget a name like that, and, to this day, Mrs. Whitmore loves to tell the story about her being saved by Tom Fudge. The other remarkable trip she took was yet another cruise, this time to Nicaragua via the Panama Canal. But this time, the boat wasn't quite what the Queen Mary had been: It was a banana boat! On December 13, 1934, Clara moved into the Baker Hotel in Dallas and applied for a job at the Neiman Marcus Department Store. When they suggested that she come back after Christmas, she instead applied at A. Harris & Co. Department Store. She went to work in the Jewelry Department and vividly remembers her first sale: It was a string of pearls for all of $1.98! She moved up to "Better Dresses," then to "Sportswear." The latter led to a managers position with Volk's Sportswear in Highland Park Village. All this is important, because had Clara not taken that first job in Dallas, she might not have met her future husband, John. Through a mutual friend at Harris & Co., Clara was introduced to her friend's husband's Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity Brother, John E. Whitmore. Following graduation and a job in real estate in Albuquerque, John Whitmore took a position with the Home Owner's Loan Corp. in Dallas. According to Clara, he didn't have the time to read a newspaper because for two years he went right from work to law school each night. John and Clara had been dating for those two years when she had an opportunity to move to another store in Chattanooga, Tennessee. When marriage was discussed, John said he was reluctant because he didn't feel he had enough money just then. Clara said, " I have $150 saved." John married Clara and repaid the debt a few months later. That event proved to be a very valuable one for Baylor College of Medicine, which hadn't moved from Dallas to Houston as yet. The photo below shows the newlyweds in Ft. Worth, Texas the day after their marriage on March 28, 1942.
John and Clara moved into the Park Lane Apartments, rented furniture from Fingers, and rode the street car to work and to play golf in Hermann Park. John made vice president at Texas Commerce Bank in one year. He quickly rose through the ranks to become president, developing one of the largest first mortgage departments in the Southwest. His innovative financing model enabled his bank to become the Texas leader in mortgage lending. And, in 1964, John E. Whitmore, LL.B., Lt. Cmdr. (Ret.), became Chairman and CEO of Texas Commerce Bancshares. His leadership resulted in the bank becoming one of the first in this region to be active in international banking. These accomplishments are all the more remarkable when one considers that Mr. Whitmore, despite his New Mexico lineage, did not have a silver spoon available to him. When he was 11 years old, he worked at a Tucumcari grocery store for $1.00 per week. He then improved himself by accepting a $1.50 per week job as a janitor in an undertaking parlor, and from ages 13-16 had the popular vocation as a soda jerker in the local drug store. John was musically inclined, playing as a saxaphonist in a dance orchestra through college. This future banker's leadership skills were evident early on: John was president of the junior class at the University of New Mexico, where he graduated in 1929. Many years later, the university would see fit to honor John with its Distinguished Alumnus Award. Serving on many boards, Mr. Whitmore's tenure on, the Board of Trustees of Baylor College of Medicine from 1969 until his death in 1987, was a labor of love. Clara said he never missed a Baylor Board meeting, often rescheduling his banking appointments. At night, he would take calls from Alfus Johnson, then Baylor's treasurer, to discuss the best investment opportunities for Baylor's fledgling endowment. It was this dedication to serving his community that Clara Bauman Whitmore wanted to honor upon her husband's death. As a result, John is still serving Baylor. Mrs. Whitmore became active in the Baylor Ten, an organization that helps raise funds to support Baylor's research, teaching, and service programs. She established the John E. Whitmore Memorial Lectureship that has brought many distinguished guest lecturers to Baylor, two of whom have lectured in the field of geriatrics. Then she did something even more remarkable. She gave $2.3 million to establish the John E. and Clara B. Whitmore Chair for the President of Baylor College of Medicine, one of only two such chairs in the nation's 126 medical schools. The first holder was William T. Butler, M.D., who said the Whitmore Chair "is one of the most rewarding gifts he has witnessed at Baylor," especially since it was named after "my mentor, John Whitmore, who was also a personal friend." Now President Ralph Feigin holds the Whitmore Chair, and his remarks and feelings echo Dr. Butler's. What's great about philanthropy is that future Baylor presidents yet unknown will also benefit from the generosity of a young woman from Lynden, Washington, and a young man from Tucumcari, New Mexico who met in Dallas. The result is a true story as big as Texas. P.S., Mrs. Whitmore will celebrate her 89th birthday on July 28, 2001; to celebrate she continues taking piano lessons (shown in the above photo with her piano teacher, Suzanne Marion). Despite decades of chronic pain from arthritis, she swims daily, travels, volunteers for various Baylor clinical research studies, and attends Baylor Ten luncheons and other events. What we have learned from her indomitable spirit, we are teaching to students and patients alike. |
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In
the early 1930's Clara Bauman finished school in Seattle, moved to Chicago where one of
her older sisters lived, and landed a job with the Stevens Davis Advertising Agency there
as a secretary for $35 a week. Two years later, this intrepid young woman relocated to
Cambridge, Massachusetts to take a job at the Simpson Campbell Insurance Agency. Following
a short stint in Boston, Clara returned to Chicago; nine years later, seeking a more
temperate climate, she moved to Dallas. 
From
Dallas, Mr. and Mrs. Whitmore moved to New Orleans where Naval Officer Whitmore worked in
the Office of Officer Procurement. Following two tours of duty in New Orleans in that
capacity, Lt. Cmdr. Whitmore was detailed to head up the Navy's Houston Office of Officer
Procurement. It was during this time that he met Jim Rockwell, a member of the board of
Texas Commerce Bank, at the Houston Navy League. Following his detachment from the Navy,
this association with Mr. Rockwell led to John accepting an offer to join the bank in
Houston making less money than his Dallas job and less than he had earned as a Naval
Officer. That decision was yet another prophetic one that was to materially benefit the
new medical school in Houston.