About Dan and Margaret Maddox

Dan Maddox was born on June 9, 1909, in Easonville, Alabama, and was the youngest of five children, three sons and two daughters. Dan began attending Georgia Tech at the age of 16, before returning home to manage the family business after his father’s death. Dan later sold the family’s credit business and moved to Brooklyn, New York, to work in a branch of CIT Corporation, a pioneer in the automobile finance industry. In 1930, he volunteered to lead the Nashville office, then ranked last among CIT’s 72 branches. The Nashville office soon became the firm’s top performing branch. In 1944, Dan went out on his own and founded Associates Capital Corporation in Nashville and led the company until it was sold to Gulf & Western Industries, Inc. in 1965.

Dan married Marjorie Cheatham in 1935; they had two daughters, Judy and Ellen, and one son, Jim. Marjorie and Dan later divorced. Marjorie passed away in 1972.

Margaret Huffman Maddox was born in Nashville on December 30, 1929. Margaret graduated from East Nashville High School and attended George Peabody College for Teachers. Margaret worked as Dan’s secretary for many years, before they were married in 1969. One of the earliest recipients of the status of Certified Professional Secretary, Margaret was selected as Tennessee’s Secretary of the Year in 1960. She enjoyed an outstanding career in the finance industry, and, at the time of her retirement, was Financial Vice President of Associates Capital Corporation. In addition to being recognized as an accomplished businesswoman, Margaret was highly respected in community leadership circles, serving in various leadership capacities for a host of charitable and civic organizations.

Dan and Margaret Maddox loved the outdoors and were committed to wildlife habitat conservation. They died, in a boating accident, while on a hunting and fishing trip in Louisiana in 1998.