A Tribute to Bob O’Toole
Robert M. O’Toole, longtime senior vice president of residential finance for the Mortgage Bankers Association, passed away earlier this month.
Friends remember “Bob” fondly. Former MBA Senior Vice President Brian Chappelle, currently a partner with Potomac Partners, said Bob joined MBA in 1987 and retired in 2001. “He previously had worked at the Veteran’s Administration, where he became the fourth VA Loan Guaranty Service Director in the program’s history,” Chappelle noted. “Throughout his career, Bob was committed to expanding homeownership opportunities to as many deserving Americans as possible, particularly our nation’s veterans.”
O’Toole recruited Stephen O’Connor to MBA in 1996. “I stayed with MBA for 28 years,” he said. O’Connor retired from MBA last year to found strategic consulting firm Belmont Links, LLC. “Bob was a good man. While he was a strong advocate for MBA’s members, he was just as impactful as a mentor for many MBA staff, including me. I will always be grateful to him.”
Former MBA General Counsel Phyllis Slesinger said O’Toole was committed to identifying and meeting the needs of MBA members seeking to make home mortgages and homeownership readily available. “He stressed to his staff, with his good Irish wit, the importance of both establishing relationships and mastering the intricacies of the staffer’s area of responsibility,” she said.
Another long-time MBA colleague, former Senior Vice President of Commercial/Multifamily Gail Cardwell, said O’Toole was one of the first people to greet her when she joined MBA. “As a newcomer and a commercial real estate-oriented staff person, Bob was always patient with me in explaining the business and market impacts of policy issues on the single-family side. We became friends quickly,” she said.
Cardwell remembers that she and her husband had similar musical tastes to Bob and his wife Phyllis. “Several of us enjoyed going to Wolftrap [a national park for the performing arts] and other local venues together. I really enjoyed his company,” she added.
After he left MBA in 2001, O’Toole served as president of the Mount Vernon, Va. Country Club and as Managing Director of SRP Consulting Group LLC.
Chappelle remembered O’Toole’s exceptional interpersonal skills. “Whether it was with White House officials, the HUD Secretary or the Fannie Mae Chairman, Bob was often able to develop a personal rapport with them that facilitated the policy discussion on key industry issues,” he said. “I always remember going to an MBA convention or conference with Bob and it seemed like Bob knew all the members in the hallways or meeting rooms. He would have made a great politician.”
A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, May 28th at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Alexandria, Va. with a reception to follow at Mount Vernon Country Club from 3:30 PM – 6:30 PM.
Please click here to read O’Toole’s obituary.
