Jesse Claybon McRae III's Obituary
Jesse Claybon McRae, III was born August 13, 1968 to Jesse C. McRae II and Eula Ross McRae, in Camden, AR. He was the only child born to this union. Jesse was raised in Pine Bluff, AR, where he accepted Christ at an early age at New Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church. His youthful journey would entail church, civic, social and sports activities destined to define the richness of his life.
Jesse graduated from Pine Bluff High School in 1986 and after graduation, he began his higher education journey by following in the footsteps of his parents by attending the University of Arkansas – Pine Bluff, formally known as Arkansas AM&N. While attending college, Jesse was initiated into the Gamma Sigma Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated® and graduated in 1990 with a B.A. Degree in Accounting.
Jesse met the love of his life, Velena Marie Lewis while in college and they were united in marriage on November 30, 1991, and they enjoyed 28 years of love and laughter. Their union blessed them with two loving sons, Jordan Claybon McRae of Portland, OR and Trent Alexander McRae of Dallas, TX.
Jesse relocated his family from Little Rock, AR to Dallas, TX in 1994 to begin his 20-year career in the Financial Securities Industry. A former FINRA Investment Advisory Representative, Registered Representative, General Securities Principal and Licensed Equity Trader, Jesse’s sell-side experience denoted a rigorous capital markets concentration resulting in over $15 billion in municipal debt, public finance advisory, initial public offering, secondary offering, corporate share repurchase and medium-term note transactions. Jesse’s buy-side experience included marketing domestic all-cap equity portfolios as well as private equity mezzanine funds involving senior subordinated debt, recapitalizations and divestitures within the oil services, specialty retail and hospitality industries. Select institutional clients included City of Dallas, UTIMCO, DFW International Airport, State of Texas, Fannie Mae, ExxonMobil, Kimberly Clark Corporation, Big Lake Oil Services, Medicia Corporation and Rockfish Seafood Grill. Jesse’s FINRA Credentials included: Series 7, Series 24, Series 55, Series 63, and Series 65. Most recently, Jesse was the Founding Principal at Zephyr Financial Services.
Jesse never met a stranger and was known across the country because of his engaging smile and personality. He was affectionately known as “Soror Jesse” by some members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® because he took great pride in attending as many sorority events as possible with Velena. Jesse was very proud of his status as a “Honey-Do” and wore his pin proudly.
Jesse was an avid Cowboys fan and loved to watch the games down at the “pound” with Ken Propps or watching the Saints vs. Cowboys rivalry with Bill Turnley, a passionate Saints fan. His other love was playing golf and he had many golf partners across the state. Wherever Jesse traveled you could bet he would fit in a round of golf. Because of his love for golf, he was invited to spend the weekend in Carlsbad, CA, at Calloway’s Golf Headquarters. This was truly a dream come true.
Jesse has been a member of Hamilton Park United Methodist Church for 24 years. He has served on the Finance Team, a Confirmation Mentor, a Lay Teaching Committee Member, and most recently joined the Lay Security Team to assist in providing security during church services.
On Tuesday, February 24, 2020, God in His infinite wisdom, called Jesse Claybon McRae III to his heavenly reward. As an organ and tissue donor, Jesse will continue to give of himself unselfishly, as he has provided life changing gifts to others.
Jesse is preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Lige and Raine Ross, paternal grandparents, Alexander and Earlene McRae, and his step-father Jimmy R. Liddell, Sr.
He leaves to cherish his memories, his wife, Velena Lewis McRae; sons, Jordan Claybon McRae and Trent Alexander McRae; his mother, Eula Ross McRae Liddell; sister-in laws Renita Simmons, and Crystal Lougin (Torrey), his father, Jesse Claybon McRae II (Kay),
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