Stephen Selak, 93, Friendly Banker, Community Activist

In 1929, Stephen S. Selak and his wife, Inez, bought a new Ford Model A, placed their few belongings in it and drove here from Lewiston, Idaho.

During their five-day trip, they didn't have a single flat tire - which was quite unusual considering the road conditions, said their son, Josef Selak.

"The roads weren't much in those days," he said. "But they wanted to move to Seattle, where they thought they could make a living."

Mr. Selak, 93, died Monday, July 29, from complications of a mild stroke that he suffered earlier this year.

A son of a Slovak coal miner, Mr. Selak started translating banking transactions for his father at age 4.

"One of the bankers told him, `Oh, you look like a smart little fellow; you look like you could be a banker someday,' " Josef Selak said.

So that's what Mr. Selak strove for. He went on to study finance at the University of Oregon and then got a banking job at Lewiston, Idaho, where he met his soon-to-be wife.

Newly married, the Selaks arrived in Seattle only two weeks before the stock-market crash. Mr. Selak started working for Prudential Savings and Loan downtown.

During the Depression, Prudential started to fail, with more than $250,000 in debts. With the permission of federal regulators, Mr. Selak took over the management of the association and saved it.

In 1949, he converted Prudential into a mutual savings bank and eventually saw its assets grow to more than $225 million, Josef Selak said.

His well-known words - "On the friendly corner of Third and Spring" - were more than an advertising slogan for Mr. Selak. They described his way of life.

He believed in banking with a personal touch, treating everyone with respect and dignity - regardless of his background or income, family members said.

A past president for the Washington Association of Mutual Savings Banks and a past treasurer for Seafair, Mr. Selak was active in many organizations, including Downtown Kiwanis, Serra Club, Knights of Columbus, USO and the Broadmoor Golf Club.

Mr. Selak is survived by his wife, Inez Selak of Seattle; son Josef Selak of Seattle; daughter Frances Gay Joyce of Oakland; three granddaughters; and one great-grandson.

Services have been held.