CAMDEN, Maine — More than 300 people gathered Saturday at a local church to say their final farewells to Charles M. Cawley, the credit card banker who revolutionized his industry and brought thousands of jobs to Maine by opening nearly a dozen customer call centers throughout the state.
Cawley, who grew up in New Jersey but had a lifelong connection to Maine, died Nov. 18 at the age of 75.
The focus on Cawley’s legacy at his funeral Saturday at Our Lady of Good Hope Catholic Church was less on his career in consumer credit and more on his personal life as a friend, father and husband.
The Rev. Edwin Leahy, who with Cawley attended St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey, and who has been headmaster of the school since 1972, recalled his friendship with Cawley over the years.
During a previous visit Leahy made to Maine, Cawley had to work and told Leahy and another friend to borrow one of Cawley’s several classic cars and to drive around the area on their own to take in the scenery. When they returned a few hours later in Cawley’s Corvette, Leahy said, Cawley met them red-faced in the driveway.
“‘That’s the one I didn’t want you to take,’” Leahy quoted Cawley as saying.
On another occasion, after a Cawley family baptism at which Leahy had to juggle the presence of two bishops, Leahy said he thought he had done a good job — until a few weeks later, when he received a letter from Cawley.
“‘You successfully ruined one of the most important days of my life,’” Leahy said, quoting the note.
Leahy said Cawley used his sense of humor to let his friends know how much he loved them.
“He treated you the same way every day, “ Leahy said, adding that Cawley showed respect to everyone, whether it was a drug addict or the vice president of the United States. “Charlie was able to love you and love me the way we were.”
Michael Cawley told attendees that his father’s experience of having his father pass away when he was only 17 shaped the next 58 years of Charlie Cawley’s life. Charlie Cawley “was always there” to support friends and family when needed, he said, and knew that doing something the right way and doing it the easy way often were not the same thing.
The son said his father had “an Irish temper” and was not always reasonable, but often that trait proved to be to the benefit of the people around him.
“Charlie Cawley dared greatly in every aspect of his life,” Michael Cawley said. “You here today are the greatest testament to Charlie’s life.”
Cawley also was publicly remembered on Friday in a full-page ad placed in the Wall Street Journal by Bank of America, which acquired MBNA in 2005 for $35 billion.
In the ad, Bank of America said Cawley “revolutionized” the consumer credit industry by introducing affinity credit cards and 24-hour customer service. MBNA found success in the crowded field with affinity lending, in which organizations such as universities or professional associations would endorse specific credit cards to its employees, alumni and other connected people.
“He was a passionate leader, philanthropist and champion of the people and communities everywhere MBNA did business,” the ad reads. “The people of MBNA were known for their deep and sustained engagement in their local communities.”
Bishop Robert Mulvee, who served dioceses in New Hampshire, Delaware and Rhode Island before retiring in 2005, told attendees at Cawley’s funeral that the ad really also should have included a photo of his wife, Julie P. Cawley, whom he said helped her husband make a difference in the lives of so many people.
“We felt that unique love from both of them,” the bishop said. “We loved him, Lord. Be good to him.”
