Richard J. "Dick" Gillen of Kingwood, Texas passed away peacefully on March 12th, 2026 at the age of 85. Dick had previously lived in South Carolina and Crystal Beach, Texas.

After graduating from night school at the University of Pittsburgh, Dick started his career in banking and ultimately mortgage banking. After stints with a builder owned mortgage company in Detroit and a move to Milwaukee to work for MGIC, he was transferred to Texas. He said to the family, "Only two years old in Texas", but the gulf coast bug bit him hard and he bought a beach house and never looked back. In 1983, his original employer reached out to him to start a Texas mortgage company. Atlantic Financial Mortgage Company was the result, owned by a PA based Savings and Loan. A few years later, he bought the mortgage company and changed the name to Harbor Financial Mortgage Corporation with the storied lighthouse logo, and the journey began. Harbor was a family business, with his lovely wife Bunny running HR, they built a business over the ensuing 14 years to become, at the time, the 32nd largest mortgage company in the US, employing over 2500 employees including his son Scott. His employees were his family, with Dick sponsoring softball teams and bowling leagues for his employees and his vendor partners. Harbor became a special place for the employees, many to this day still say it was their favorite place to work. Whatever event the company sponsored, Dick would be there with his Miller Lite, cheering on the employees. Dick served as President of the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association (TMBA) in 1997 and received the Larry Temple Distinguished Service Award from the TMBA in 2016.

Dick sold Harbor in 1999 and retired shortly thereafter, moving to Crystal Beach, Texas where he slowly acquired 8 rental properties and began his second career managing vacation rentals. Dick loved the water, from the early days of his first big boat "A Yacht it's Nacht" to his shrimp boat, a good day for Dick was a day on the water. He picked up shrimping as a hobby shortly after moving to Texas and spent close to 20 years shrimping every weekend and gaining a loyal clientele of neighbors and renters.

Despite all his professional accomplishments, he was most proud of being a father and grandfather. Dick always welcomed his family with open arms and a beautiful smile. He delighted in sharing his love of the Gulf Coast with his grandsons—teaching them how to fish, letting them take turns driving the golf cart, and creating memories they will always treasure. And…..there was always a bag of powdered doughnuts waiting on top of the fridge, just for them.

Dick is survived by his son Scott and his wife Jeanette, son Jeff Gillen, daughter Kristen Farley and her husband Pete, grandsons Cameron Gillespie and wife Sarah, Kenneth Gillespie and wife Korbie, Preston Farley and Lukas, Erik and Ian Gillen. In lieu of flowers, the family requests those wishing to pay tribute make donations in Dick's name to MBA's Open Doors. A charity started by the Mortgage Bankers Association that assists families with grants to parents and guardians caring for a critically ill or injured child, allowing them to take unpaid leave from work and spend precious time together without jeopardizing their cherished homes. https://www.mbaopensdoors.org/

A celebration of life will be planned and scheduled for a later day. Details will follow.