Watlington joined Wachovia in 1933. He held various positions in Winston-Salem and served 17 years in Charlotte, where he became senior executive. He was elected president and chief executive officer of Wachovia Bank in 1956. Under his leadership, Wachovia Bank relinquished its state charter for a national charter in 1968 and formed a one-bank holding company, The Wachovia Corporation, with Watlington as chairman and chief executive officer.
He retired as chairman and chief executive officer of the bank and the corporation on December 31, 1976. He served as a director and member of the executive committee of the bank and the corporation until 1982.
During Watlington’s tenure, Wachovia experienced 21 years of record growth and expansion, became listed on the New York Stock Exchange and established a national and international presence, including a reputation for operations excellence.
"John Watlington was an exceptional person and great leader of Wachovia," said L. M. Baker Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Wachovia Corporation. "He never failed, in any discussion or forum, to emphasize the importance of high personal standards of conduct and strong corporate values."
Watlington was known statewide and nationally as a banking leader. He was a former director of the Reserve City Bankers Association and a member of the American Bankers Association.
Watlington worked to improve the economy of the Carolinas and the Southeast through promoting expansion of industry, strengthening agriculture and attracting new industry.
He was a past vice president of the National Municipal League, a past member of the North Carolina Board of Natural and Economic Resources and a past director and president of the executive committee of the North Carolina Citizens Association. He served as a trustee of the Tax Foundation Inc. He had served as president of the Winston-Salem and Charlotte chambers of commerce and as chairman of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities Commission.
He served many years as chairman of the board of visitors of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and led fund-raising efforts for the Medical Center. He had served as president of the board of trustees and member of the executive committee of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation. He also had served on the board of visitors of the Graduate School of Business Administration at Duke University and as chairman of the board of trustees of Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Va. He was a member of the National Corporations Committee of the United Negro College Fund and an honorary life trustee of the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges.
Watlington was born March 23, 1911, and was a native of Reidsville, N.C. In 1933 he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Washington & Lee University, where he served as class valedictorian. He was awarded honorary doctorate degrees by Wake Forest University in 1969 and by Washington & Lee in 1979. During 1978 he was awarded a citation for Distinguished Citizenship by the North Carolina Citizens Association and the Community Service Award by the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce. He was inducted into the N. C. Business Hall of Fame in 1993.
Memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church, 300 N. Cherry St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101; Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1021; Washington & Lee University, Lexington, VA 24450; Fitzgerald Health Care Center of Arbor Acres, 1240 Arbor Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27104-1197; or Senior Services Inc., 836 Oak St., Suite 320, Winston-Salem, NC 27101-14455.
