Longtime credit union leader and former New York Credit Union Association Board Chairman Patrick G. Calhoun died last week at the age of 72.

Calhoun served for 15 years as the president and CEO of SEFCU. In 1988, he was hand-picked to lead the Albany-based credit union. Under his leadership, Calhoun increased the credit union’s assets from $205 million to over $1.4 billion and grew memberships from 56,000 to over 150,000.

From 1993 to 2007, he served on the Association’s board of directors and as board chairman from 2001 to 2003. He successfully testified before the U.S. Senate-Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on behalf of the Association, and spent his entire career serving credit unions.

Calhoun was a founding member of the credit union think tank Filene Research Institute, located in Madison, Wisconsin. He was also active in the community and served on the board of the American Cancer Society in Albany.

“Pat was an outstanding credit union leader and a fierce advocate of the credit union movement who made a tremendous impact on the industry,” said New York Credit Union Association President/CEO William J. Mellin. “The credit union movement in New York and elsewhere has suffered a tremendous loss, and Pat’s ‘people helping people’ philosophy will be immensely missed. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time.”

In a letter to members, SEFCU President/CEO Michael Castellana told members that Calhoun “embodied and brought to life SEFCU’s true purpose of changing lives every day” and  he was very proud of the work SEFCU continued to do to support people in need throughout the communities that SEFCU serves.

Calhoun is survived by his wife Penny Clum Doring Calhoun, five children and 10 grandchildren. Services are planned for this spring. Memorial donations may be made to the Lustgarten Foundation Pancreatic Cancer Research at lustgarten.org.

 Click here to access Calhoun’s full obituary.