James Benjamin Panther

James B. “Jim” Panther, San Diego Pioneer Who Turned Credit Into Second Chances, passes away at 83 Quiet architect of North County’s growth and builder of people first; later standardized a humane path back to mainstream credit. San Diego, California — James B. “Jim” Panther never introduced himself as a mogul, a lawyer, a banker, a developer, or a financier—though he was, at various points, all of the above. He led with the simpler truth: your word is your bond, and follow through is love in action. If you knew Jim, you can still hear his daily challenge—“Did you get it done?”—half question, half grin, always a nudge toward your better self. He built people first. Then he built the banks and neighborhoods they needed. A beginning stitched with humility—and a lifelong crew cut: Born to Sheridan Panther, a hunter who could feed a family with a single season’s worth of patience, and Cora Panther, a schoolteacher who believed every mind deserved a chance, Jim carried Montana grit into everything he touched. At the University of Washington, he met the love of his life—Marie Berta Suquilanda—and showed up to meet her physician father, Dr. Dario Suquilanda, with his trademark crew cut and knee high socks. The two men clicked: the doctor who never turned away a patient and the young lawyer to be who took on pro bono causes because someone had to. In the decades that followed, Jim regularly supported remote medical clinics Dr. Suquilanda established across South America, from Ecuador to Venezuela—quietly, unadvertised, because the work itself was the point. At home, Jim was the dad who taught his eldest son to fly and the grandson who flew with his own father to fish the far north—God’s Lake, Ketchikan, Alaska—where dawn tasted like cold air and responsibility. As a private pilot, he loved a steady approach: gauges glowing soft green, hands light on the yoke, eyes scanning, calm brings everyone home. That’s how he worked, led, and loved. And he laughed—always. If you visited late in life, he’d ask the urgent questions first: “You bring the milkshake?” (Half vanilla, half chocolate. Burger on the side. In N Out or Carl’s—he could recite the differences like a sommelier.) Humor was his way of telling you: we’re together, so we’re okay. The pioneer you didn’t see coming: Before “automated underwriting” and before credit scores were the gatekeepers of American life, Jim was already designing systems that widened the doorway without lowering the standard. In 1982, he helped organize First Bankers Mortgage Company—a state supervised mortgage banking firm founded by Bank of Redlands, La Jolla Bank & Trust Company, North County Bank, and Peninsula Bank of San Diego—to give community banks a shared engine for construction loans and long term mortgages across residential, commercial, and industrial projects. The goal was simple: originate well, serve locally, and scale responsibly. Parallel to that, Jim built First Liberty Financial and became the kind of cross trained leader rare in any era: B.A., University of Washington; M.B.A., Seattle University; J.D., California Western School of Law; alum of Arthur Young & Co. (now Ernst & Young); licensed real estate broker; and legal consultant to major California developers and builders. He was the person you called when you needed tax smarts, legal judgment, and street level commonsense in one room. A decade later, as America’s credit system hardened into “yes” or “no” by score alone, Jim went back to first principles: most charge offs aren’t moral failures—they’re life events (job loss, medical catastrophe, divorce). So he built an institutional way to bring good people back inside the financial mainstream. Under the Credit Store umbrella and its servicing affiliate Service One International, Jim and his team standardized terms, automated the back office with national processors, and turned non performing into performing again—at scale. • Standardized, automated, securitizable: a balance transfer card that converted old obligations into manageable, revolving credit; a platform designed from day one for industrial strength servicing and, when needed, securitization. • A genuine second chance: when a consumer accepted the program, the bureaus were notified the prior balance was paid in full, and on time monthly payments posted as fresh positives—an engineered path to credit restoration rather than permanent exile. • Proven servicing muscle: Service One managed an average 125,000 secured card accounts annually with delinquency under 6%, performance comparable to the best in the industry. If the 1980s were Jim’s era of regional bank–consortium mortgage banking, the 1990s were his era of institutionalized consumer debt rescheduling—an early, compassionate blueprint for data driven credit rehabilitation long before those ideas became standard. He also built neighborhoods you can still walk through. In the early 1990s, Jim chaired Crystal Aire in Murrieta—family homes on big lots, priced to be reachable, with energy efficiency features that earned a Five Star Energy Saver Award from Southern California Gas. It was classic Jim: practical, decent, quietly future minded. "The man behind the deals" What did it feel like to be around Jim? Confidence—without swagger. He had a handshake that said I see you; back pats that bordered on bone crunching and translated as I’m with you. He’d wink in court and draw a rebuke for it, then win you over with a joke in the hallway. He rooted for the underdog even when he wasn’t the underdog, because fairness was not a posture for him—it was policy. He served faith the way he served people: steadily. A devout Catholic, Jim and Marie made Sunday Mass a habit that lasted their entire marriage. When illness came—Lewy Body Dementia—he did what he’d always done: fought to live fully, loved without condition, and found a way to smile. He knew when hallucinations were tricks of the brain, and he defused fear with humor. Pride gave way to grace; grace gave way to gratitude. At home, his legacy is love over 58 years of marriage; two sons who carry his exacting standard of follow through; grandchildren who knew him as their biggest fan; and a community he considered family. In business, his legacy is a playbook: engineer fairness, insist on accountability, and never confuse compassion with permissiveness. “Did you get it done?” There was a reason Jim asked that question every day. He believed character is kept promises, not big talk. That’s why he marched for the Walk for Mankind to raise funds for Project Concern’s medical and dental programs; why he helped Dr. Suquilanda bring care to remote communities; why he took on legal fights pro bono when someone needed a voice. He measured success by the people who could move forward because you stood with them. And yet he never stopped being down to earth: a private pilot who preferred a smooth landing to a perfect takeoff, a milkshake connoisseur who could debate the ideal vanilla chocolate ratio, a burger critic who loved the ritual as much as the taste. If you think greatness looks like a corner office, Jim will surprise you; sometimes it looks like a man in line at a burger stand, buying an extra one because he knows you like yours with onions. Services & a living memorial: A Catholic Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Mission San Luis Rey, Oceanside, on Monday, November 17, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. All who were touched by Jim’s life are welcome. In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to visit JamesPanther.org—a living memory book built in Jim’s spirit of follow through. There you can upload a story, voice note, photo, or short video about Jim; read others’ memories; and, if you wish, contribute to Lewy Body Dementia awareness and early diagnosis efforts. Each week, we’ll publish Get It Done Weekly—brief notes on perseverance and integrity drawn from community stories, because Jim believed ordinary follow through changes lives. "How we’ll remember him" We’ll remember the steady counselor in the boardroom and the steady hand on final approach. We’ll remember a builder of people who also built the banks that served them, the homes they lived in, and the credit pathways that let them try again. We’ll remember that in an age of shortcuts, he preferred the long way if it was the right way. We’ll remember that kindness scales—when you design it to. “Did you get it done?” We’re working on it, Jim—together. Selected milestones (for the record) • First Bankers Mortgage Company (1982) — State supervised, founded by Bank of Redlands, La Jolla Bank & Trust, North County Bank, and Peninsula Bank of San Diego; expanded loan programs for partner banks and originated construction and permanent mortgages. • First Liberty Financial — President; combined legal, tax, and real estate expertise; UW B.A., Seattle University M.B.A., California Western J.D.; Arthur Young alum; licensed broker; consultant to major California developers. • Credit Store / Service One (1990s) — Pioneered standardized, automated rescheduling of under performing consumer debt; back office automation and securitization ready receivables; “paid in full” bureau updates to restore credit; Service One averaged 125,000 accounts/year with <6% delinquency. • First Bankers Plaza, Triad Commercial Center, Navy Federal Credit Union Center, Crystal Aire (early 1990s) — Chairman; developed family homes in Murrieta; energy efficiency features recognized with Five Star Energy Saver Award. If you have a memory of Jim—big or small—please add it at JamesPanther.org. In his language, that’s how we get it done.

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