Chrissi Rhea, Co-Founder of Mortgage Investors Group, Passes Away

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this piece ran last week. Since then, details for the funeral services have changed. Please scroll to the bottom for the full information.

Chrissi Callaghan Rhea, Co-Founder and former President and CEO of Mortgage Investors Group, passed away Nov. 8.

She was 73.

Rhea co-founded Knoxville, Tenn.-based MIG in 1989, with a mission to build an employee-centered, customer-focused company.

Rhea was a long-time presence in the industry and served in various roles for the Mortgage Bankers Association.

She was a current member of the MBA Board of Directors and chaired the MBA Residential Board of Governors in 2023. She also was an engaged member of MBA’s IMB Executive Council, among other groups.

“Chrissi was a pioneer in the industry, co-founding MIG in the late 1980s and leading the company until just a few months ago,” recalled MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB. “She also was an incredibly kind and generous executive.” Broeksmit noted that she was “the driving force behind MBA’s efforts to ban abusive mortgage trigger leads.”

In March, Rhea received the Burton C. Wood Legislative Service Award at MBA’s National Advocacy Conference. The award is given annually to an MBA member in recognition of his or her sustained superior service to the association and the real estate finance industry.

“Chrissi is a results-driven, passionate MBA member and policy advocate who for many years has fought for meaningful change on the industry’s biggest issues and priorities,” said Mark Jones, 2024 MBA Chairman and President of Union Home Mortgage, in his presentation of the award. “She embodies what it means to be a leader and is so deserving of this award.”

“Chrissi Rhea was a dynamic leader. She had a smile on her face, and she always brought great knowledge and insight,” said Gene Lugat, Executive Vice President of PrimeLending and Rhea’s successor as RESBOG chair in 2024. He recalled Rhea’s passion for and work on advancing the trigger lead legislation.

“The thing I took from Chrissi during my time working with her was her ability to always ask the right questions, continue to probe, include everybody in the conversation, and be able to come to a conclusion that we could take forward into our agenda and to serve the industry,” Lugat continued. “My heart is heavy for her family and her colleagues. She was just a tremendous leader for the industry, and someone we’re going to greatly miss as both an industry leader and an advocate for the MBA.”

“We first crossed paths in a peer group meeting around 2015. She was one of the few women in the room, and I remember feeling an immediate sense of admiration and respect for her. It was more than her presence as a successful female leader in an industry where that role was a rarity; there was something magnetic about her energy, an authenticity that drew me in. She was a true force–a leader who had the utmost respect, yet was unpretentious, warm and wonderfully real,” recalled Kate deKay, CEO of Eustis Mortgage. “Our connection grew over those peer group years, but it was in the years that followed that she truly became a mentor to me. We bonded over more than business—over family, life’s challenges, and navigating the ups and downs of being women, mothers, and for Chrissi, a grandmother.” 

“She was my favorite partner in fun at MBA events, and it was her encouragement that led me to get more involved with MBA. She understood that active involvement in the MBA was essential for driving meaningful change and advocating for the issues that mattered most to us. She even nominated me to serve on the board, always speaking about me with a kind of pride that lifted me up and made me feel more confident in myself and my achievements. I was often humbled by the things she would say about me; she had this incredible gift for making people feel seen and valued,” deKay continued. “There aren’t enough words to express the impact she had on me as a woman in this industry, as a friend and as someone I deeply admired.”

“[She] was a force in mortgage banking, not because she followed the path but because she forged one. Starting Mortgage Investors Group with a handful of people in 1989, she built it into one of the Southeast’s leading mortgage lenders, all while championing fair lending and affordable housing,” said Rhea’s son, Kevin Rhea, who worked with her at MIG for more than 20 years

“She was a mentor who encouraged her team to think bigger, to push boundaries, and to advocate for those without a voice. Chrissi was driven by more than business success; she believed in using her position to make a difference, and she did so in every way she could,” he continued.

Rhea was preceded in death by her parents, Frank and Lois Callaghan of Oak Ridge. 

She is survived by her daughter Andrea Reyes (Tim) of Knoxville; son Kevin Rhea (Pam) of Knoxville; life partner Russell Beatty; siblings Patti Callaghan of Newburgh, Ind., Susan Callaghan and Kathy Callaghan (Wayne Edwards) of Pittsboro, N.C., and brother Kevin Callaghan (Deborah) of Plano, Texas; her adored grandchildren Olivia Rhea, Patrick Rhea and Evan Reyes; beloved cousins Tom and Joyce Callaghan of Boston; former husband John Rhea of Knoxville; and several nieces and nephews. 

A receiving of friends is scheduled for Nov. 26 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and a funeral mass will be at 12 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family noted donations can be made to Breast Connect in her honor or a charity of choice.