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Donald (Don) Rockwood Salem Sr.
Donald Rockwood (Don R.) Salem of Seymour, Tennessee, was born March 28, 1925, in Chicago, Illinois, at Ravenswood hospital, and died peacefully at home, surrounded by love, on August 18, 2019. Don grew up on a farm in Lake Zurich, Illinois, and graduated from the University of Alabama with a health major. After teaching school for a time, he became a commercial tire salesman and store manager for B.F. Goodrich, then went to Prudential Insurance selling company health insurance when he was approached by Anniston National Bank to head their new charge account banking program, the first bank charge card program outside of Florida in the US at the time. He developed their program from the ground up, solicited merchants and sold accounts receivable purchasing. A new banking concept at the time, charge account banking was primarily a business service, designed to help small retailers compete with the credit practices of expanding department stores. Don became president of the Charge Account Bankers Association (CABA) in the 1960s, and sat on the Board of Directors of the Interbank Association, which integrated the credit card business into the banking system in the early 1970s. Among the bankers he worked with were Ed Brennan and Bob Serafine, Trenton Trust Co.; Frank Lewis, First National Bank, Montgomery, Ala.; Bob Hughes, First Citizens Bank, N.C.; and Evan Housworth, Citizens & Southern, Atlanta, Ga. In 1968, he was hired by Hamilton National Bank in Knoxville, TN, to develop their charge account banking program. Bankers were surprised to find retailers undecided about the merits of charge account banking so selling that intangible new idea to merchants was important. Despite being described as "the Cadillac of the industry" at a CABA conference in Gatlinburg in 1970, what had initially been more of a sales and development position was becoming an executive desk job, and Don yearned for the face-to- face selling he so enjoyed. In April 1972, he and his wife, Pam, began a business selling linens and contract furnishings to motels in Knoxville and the Smoky Mountains which then expanded to the Tri Cities, Nashville, and Kentucky. Starting out with a box truck full of towels and sheets, Don thrived on building the sales relationships and customer service he so enjoyed providing. He was a consummate salesman who sold 1.2 million dollars of merchandise before the 1982 World's Fair and only lost $92.00 on a freight bill. After the Gatlinburg fires, at his age 91, Don and Pam rented a U-Haul and delivered 800 bed pillows to a customer on Christmas Eve so the property could re-open and not lose important revenue. His legacy is excellence. Don and Pam married February 5, 1971, and were sweethearts and partners for 48 years. As always, it seems like only yesterday. Preceded in death by father and mother William F. and Frances Salem, and dear friends Ron and Mary Dahlberg of Park Forest, Illinois. Don is survived by wife Pam Luttrell Salem; sister Dorothy Prokop of Libertyville, Illinois; brother William F. (Marge) Salem of North Lima, OH; son Shaun (Ashley J.) Salem of Maryville, Tennessee; sons, Don R. Salem Jr. and Mark E. Salem both of Knoxville; daughter Marie (W.E. “Bud") Irish of Salem, South Carolina; grandchildren, Emilia and Wesley Salem of Maryville, Tennessee; Bryan (Kara) Irish of Lake Mary, Florida; and Elizabeth (Tommy) Hood of Greenville, South Carolina; great grandchildren; Addison Irish, Caleb Hood, Brianna Irish, Olivia Hood, and Claire Irish. Don marched in the Alabama Band in college and forever loved band music. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Don Salem, Sr. to the Oak Ridge Community Band, P.O. Box 6980, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, where his son, Shaun, is the conductor. http://www.orcb.org/ A Celebration of Life service will be held at Edgewater Hotel, 402 River Rd, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. The Magnolia Room, Tuesday, September 3, 2019. Visitation: 4:00-6:00 PM with brief service to follow 6:00-6:30 PM.March 28, 1925 - August 18, 201903/28/192508/18/2019
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Donald (Don) Rockwood Salem Sr.
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