Carole Mckee Badgett

Elizabeth Carole McKee Badgett, 78, passed away peacefully on May 23, 2024, at her home in Dallas surrounded by family after a year-long battle with cancer. Born in Fort Worth, TX to Gwendolyn Wilshire McKee and John McKee on January 3rd, 1946, she was the baby of the family of four children. Raised on her family farm in Saginaw, she commuted into town to attend North Side High School and graduated from Carter High School in Fort Worth, and then attended Baylor University and the University of Texas at Arlington.

She is survived by her husband, Charles Badgett; her children Dr. Korie Flippo and husband Mathew Tribolet; Kristie Ince and husband Brant; Bammer Flippo and wife Joelle; Fran Badgett; and Russell Badgett. She was predeceased by her brother Charles McKee. Carole is also survived by her siblings Gwen Kirkpatrick and husband Haskell; brother Carl McKee and long-time companion Linda Strickland; her five beloved grandchildren Haley Ince, Grant Tribolet, Gracie Tribolet, Brooke Ince and Conrad Ince; her dear cousin Rick Wilshire; and many, many more cherished nieces, nephews and cousins.

After college Carole went to work for a syndicator investor in income properties out of New Jersey, buying and rehabbing properties across the nation and personally managing over 30,000 units at one point. With this experience and babies at home, she went to work for Dudley Beadles, a highly respected Fort Worth real estate attorney who owned Trinity Title, later known as Trinity-Western Title. As she grew into a commercial closer for Mr. Beadles, she caught the attention of Stewart Morris of Stewart Title. She opened the first Stewart Title commercial branch in Fort Worth which was an instant success, based in the Tandy Center downtown.

Hexter-Fair Title in Dallas hired her to run their commercial operations in the late 1970s. She managed over 20 commercial closers at the peak of Dallas’ development in the 1980s, which helped Hexter-Fair achieve over 50% of the total commercial market share in DFW at the time. As the lead closer, she worked on the development of the Galleria, Bank of America Tower, the Crescent, and her masterpiece, Cityplace. She helped The Southland Corporation quietly assemble over 300 acres for Cityplace in and around the four corners of Fitzhugh and Central Expressway. No one knew who it was, and she and the lead broker of the effort, C. King Laughlin, managed to keep Southland’s identity confidential as the buyer as they closed on over 1000 properties, worth over $350 million, just north of Dallas’ central core. Aside from Dallas and Texas transactions, she expanded into national property transactions - at one point closing over 450 properties in a three-day closing at the World Trade Center in NYC almost 90 days before the tragedy of September 11th, 2001.

During her career she mentored and trained dozens of the area’s best commercial closers, and was advisor to hundreds of investors, attorneys, brokers, bankers and small business owners on how best to handle their commercial property transactions. She was, until her retirement in 2023, still sought out for her wisdom and straight-shooting counsel in property transactions. She happily retired from Fidelity National Title in 2023 for a well-earned retirement life.

Of her many accomplishments, her children came first, and later she became a supporter of the Chiapas Project (Chiapas International), a microlending effort started by Lucy Billingsley that was focused on the small town of Chiapas in southern Mexico. She rose to Chair of the organization and was passionate about bringing families located in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean out of poverty by a unique process which was initially devised by Dr. Mohammed Unis in India, whom she personally knew and admired. The Chiapas Project made small loans to families (primarily mothers) in which they applied and submitted a business plan for their proposed small businesses. With their peers holding them accountable, the mission was for them to grow their businesses, repay their loans over time, and create ventures that could sustain and grow their families’ fortunes while also bettering their communities. These now self-sustaining microlending banks continue working in the villages and towns that Chiapas International touched, standing on their own with families - led by mothers – to continue growing their and their children’s healthiness, work ethic, and education. Hopes and futures they never would have had before.

She loved Montana, golf, travel (especially High Tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, B.C), any and all animals (especially giraffes), Okaloosa Island, FL, knitting, bible classes, art, working alongside her husband Charlie for 30 years, teaching the meaning of “If two or more are gathered, they are here to hear me”, baseball, the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Stars hockey, driving really fast, Baylor Bears, public speaking, and her friends and family - but most of all her children, five grandchildren and extended family. She was the matriarch of the McKee clan, having taken it over from her mother and “running the show” extremely efficiently, as was usual in both her business and private lives.

Carole and her family are grateful for the loving care during her illness from her beloved nephew Dr. Haskell McGill Kirkpatrick, Dr. Jessamyn Boyd and the entire Texas Oncology team. Thankfulness is also extended to the compassionate care of her caregivers, especially Clara, Faith, Chioma, Okey and Yemi with Revive Compassionate Care, as well as the caregivers with Grace Home Health and Faith Hospice.

A Funeral Mass and Celebration of Life will take place at St. John’s Episcopal Church, June 8th, 2024, at 3:00 P.M located at 848 Harter Road, Dallas, TX 75218. Funeral Home service gratefully provided by Lucas Funeral Home ( www.lucasfuneralhomes.com )

Carole’s wish was for any memorials be made to the Notre Dame School of Dallas ( www.notredameschool.org ) the Dallas SPCA ( www.spca.org ), the Dallas Arboretum ( www.dallasarboretum.org ), or the charity of your personal choosing.