Aubrey N. Heflin

Aubrey N. Heflin became the fourth president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond on April 1, 1968, and served until his death in January 1973.

Born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1912, Heflin earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond in 1933 and his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1936. He was also a 1951 graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University. Hampden-Sydney College awarded him an honorary doctor of laws degree in 1972.

After earning his law degree, Heflin was an associate attorney for the Richmond law firm of Parrish, Butcher and Parrish. He joined the Richmond Fed in 1941 as assistant to counsel, but interrupted his Bank career to serve as a lieutenant in the US Navy during World War II. In 1945, he returned to the Bank, becoming counsel in 1950 and then vice president and general counsel in 1953. In 1961, he was named first vice president, then became president in 1968 following Edward A. Wayne’s retirement.

Heflin served in the Bank’s top two jobs during the 1960s, which saw the number of employees increase from 1,391 in 1960 to 1,873 in 1970. During his time as president, Virginia endured one of the most devastating storms in recorded history as Hurricane Camille tore through the state in August 1969. The Richmond and Atlanta Reserve Banks, whose districts were affected, made credit available to banks to respond to the hurricane’s ravages. In 1970 the Richmond Fed opened the FedWire facility in Culpeper, Virginia, furthering efforts toward electronic payments.

Heflin belonged to and led numerous civic, educational and social organizations. Among his many activities, he was a member of the boards of trustees of the University of Richmond, Union Theological Seminary, the Richmond Urban League and the Richmond Eye Hospital. He was a member of the National Council of Boy Scouts of America and the Richmond, Virginia State and American Bar Associations, and was involved in both the Richmond YMCA and the YMCA for the United States and Canada.

Heflin and his wife, Ellen, lived in Richmond and had two children. He died in 1973.

Written by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. See disclaimer.