Chrissi Rhea, the former president and CEO of Knoxville, Tennessee-based Mortgage Investors Group, passed away on Nov. 8 following a bout with cancer.
Rhea co-founded Mortgage Investors Group with Chuck Tonkin in 1989 with seven employees. Today, the company employs over 300 professionals across 26 branches, and it focuses on residential mortgage lending across the Southeast. Anna Beltran succeeded Rhea as president in March and as CEO last month; Tonkin currently holds the president’s job.
During her career, Rhea was active in both the Knoxville and Memphis Mortgage Bankers Associations and served on the board of directors for the Tennessee Housing Development Agency and on the THDA Audit and Budget Committee and its Lending Committee. In March, the Mortgage Bankers Association presented Rhea with its Burton C. Wood Legislative Service Award for service to the association and the real estate finance industry.
“Chrissi is a results-driven, passionate MBA member and policy advocate who for many years has fought for meaningful change on the industry’s biggest issues and priorities,” said Mark Jones, 2024 MBA chairman and president of Union Home Mortgage, during the award presentation. “She embodies what it means to be a leader and is so deserving of this award.”
Rhea’s son, Kevin Rhea, paid tribute to his mother via a Facebook posting.
“She was the epitome of selflessness, giving not only her money but her time and gifts,” he wrote. “She was always there to help someone in need, to lend a hand or an ear, or simply to lift someone’s spirit. She had a magnetic personality, and everyone who met her felt instantly drawn to her warmth. She absolutely adored her grandkids, and they meant the world to her. She was their biggest cheerleader, always the first to celebrate their achievements and offer support when they needed it.”
“In the 1980s, she had the courage to start a business at a time when very few women dared to enter that world,” Kevin Rhea added. “She faced obstacles that most men never had to deal with, yet she tackled each one with pure grit and determination. She raised two kids on her own and juggled it all, from working two jobs—selling ads at the Oak Ridger and working at Polaris Travel—to being an assistant manager of British Woods Apartments that helped pay the rent. She was relentless, conquering every challenge life threw at her.”
Photo courtesy of Chrissi Rhea’s Facebook page
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Chrissi was one of the best ever customers that became a friend. Her smile, her good thoughts and always a welcome into her office. We have lost a leader, a mentor , a challenger and an accomplished women of good, good business values way too soon. Go Rest High, Chrissi, you left a mark on our world.
Chrissie personified the classic American success story. I’ve watched it all for the last 50 years. She did it with kindness and joy.