Clifton Morris, former Cash America executive and AmeriCredit leader, dies at 87

Clifton Morris, who led Fort Worth-based AmeriCredit Corp. as it became one of the country’s largest subprime auto lenders, died Saturday at his Fort Worth home. He was 87.

Morris was born on July 26, 1935, in Fort Worth, to Clifton H. Morris Sr. and Lois Woods Morris. He graduated from Paschal High School in 1953 and earned an accounting degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

After he graduated from UT, Morris began work at his father’s accounting firm before he joined Arthur Young in Los Angeles. Morris joined Cash America in Fort Worth as chief financial officer in the 1980s.

During his tenure, the company grew to hundreds of locations across the country. In the late 1980s, he left Cash America to start Urcarco Inc., a nationwide chain of used car lots. But the company ran into trouble in the early 1990s as repossessions climbed and losses grew. So Morris changed the direction of the company into financing cars instead of selling them. Shareholders approved the name change to AmeriCredit in 1992, according to Star-Telegram archives.

Morris remained as the chairman of the board of AmeriCredit until it was acquired by General Motors in 2010.

Unlike many CEOs, Morris did not shy away from talking about low points during his life. He often described how alcohol affected his life, and he was a firm believer in the approach to sobriety from Alcoholics Anonymous.

According to Star-Telegram archives, Morris never forgot the day that he was fired because of his drinking.

At the time, Morris was the top finance executive at Service Corp. International, a major Houston-based funeral services company. He was asked to resign.

He later worked to help former associates raise money for business ventures, but he was also fired from that job because of alcoholism.

Morris was determined to rebuild his life, and on Feb. 22, 1979, a day Morris referred to as his birthday, he turned to Alcoholics Anonymous for help.

His wife, Sheridan Cravens Morris described her husband as an “amazing man” who took on a blended family when his youngest child was 21 and hers was 1 year old.

“I was his fourth wife,” she recalled. Their 39th anniversary is Saturday.

Morris was fair but not lenient with the children, she said.

He would always make time for coaching, attending graduations and other events, she said.

“He was a very unique man. He was always positive in business, and he was very spiritual. He prayed every day,” his wife said.

Dan Berce, president and CEO of GM Financial and a longtime friend, said Morris was friendly to everyone whether the person was an executive or worked in the service department.

Berce said the values that Morris instilled such as transparency and focusing on customers when he founded AmeriCredit are still part of the culture at GM Financial.

“He was a mentor to many, including executives based on the fact that he grew several businesses in his career and helped us think through several issues,” Berce said.

Morris served on the boards of Service Corporation International, Cash America and AmeriCredit Corp. He was a lifetime member of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants, and an honorary member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He was named 2001 Business Executive of the Year by the Fort Worth Business Hall of Fame and inducted into the Fort Worth Business Press Entrepreneur Hall of Fame in 2016.

Morris was an avid golfer, shooting his age or under over 150 times.

Although he was a UT graduate, Morris was a TCU fan, often sitting in the stands to support the Horned Frogs.

A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Oct. 24 at First United Methodist Church, 800 W. Fifth St., with a reception following at the Fort Worth Club.

Morris is survived by his wife of 39 years, Sheridan Cravens Morris; children, Clifton H. Morris III, John H. Morris, Robin B. Happel and her husband, Brian, W. Brett Beebe and his wife, Ashley, and Adam J. Beebe and his wife, Brooke; and grandchildren, Jake, Josie, Brailey, Campbell, Rhett, Mills, Frater, Charles, Annabelle and Marion.

This story was originally published October 19, 2022 at 9:29 AM.