Frances Lucy Accetta, 75, a widely known Chestnut Hill banking executive, died Oct. 3 of a stroke at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. A longtime Chestnut Hill resident, Mrs. Accetta had retired …
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Frances Lucy Accetta, 75, a widely known Chestnut Hill banking executive, died Oct. 3 of a stroke at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
A longtime Chestnut Hill resident, Mrs. Accetta had retired in 2001 as vice president, commercial lender and regional manager at National Penn Bank.
She had just begun work in September as a marketing consultant at Valley Green Bank, where she had previously been a customer service representative from 2006 to 2012.
Mrs. Accetta began her banking career at Chestnut Hill National Bank, where she was the first person hired by the bank, then situated in a trailer on the parking lot of SEPTA's West Chestnut Hill train station. She rose quickly as the bank was acquired by National Penn Bank.
Algot F. Thorell Jr., chairman of the board of Valley Green Bank and a founder of the Chestnut Hill National Bank, described Mrs. Accetta as “a banker with a heart.”
“She was a decisive, knowledgeable executive who brought to her banking work a caring and concern for the lives of her banking clients and employees,” Thorell said, adding that she had been a mentor to many bankers who had subsequently gone on to successful careers in banking.
As a banking executive, she was a founding member of the Chestnut Hill Chapter of Rotary International.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, she was a graduate of Hallahan High School. She had worked as a teacher's aide at Our Mother of Consolation Church in Chestnut Hill, while her children were young, and was a longtime member of the church choir.
A devoted mother and grandmother, she spent considerable time commuting to California and, later, Texas, to assist her daughter, Jill, with the care of her three children, one of whom suffered from a rare illness that required frequent blood transfusions and, ultimately, a successful bone marrow transplant.
In addition to her daughter, Mrs. Accetta is survived by a sister, Norma, and four grandchildren. Her husband, Jack, and a daughter, Susan preceded her in death.
A funeral Mass was celebrated Oct. 9 at Our Mother of Consolation Church. Memorial donations may be made to the Chestnut Hill Rotary Foundation, P.O. Box 4332, Philadelphia, PA 19118. – WF
