HEB Family Scion Howard Butt, Jr., Passes Away At 89

SAN ANTONIO, TX -- The eldest descendant of the founders of the HEB grocery store empire, Howard Butt, Jr., passed away on Sunday at the age of 89, company officials announced.

For decades, the family scion served as president and CEO of the H.E. Butt Foundation and as vice chairman of the HEB board. He helped his namesake father take the reins of a family-run business founded in Kerrvillle, Texas, that has become a $23 billion enterprise encompassing 380 stores throughout Texas and Mexico.

Helping run what is today the largest family-owned company in Texas were his brother, Chairman and CEO Charles Butt, along with family members Howard Butt III and Stephen Butt.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of my brother, Howard,” Charles Butt said in a prepared statement. “His decades of inspired leadership, philanthropy and humanitarian efforts will forever be missed by our family and those he impacted across the U.S.”

Born in Kerrville, Texas, on Sept. 8, 1927, the late executive grew up in the food business founded by his grandmother, Florence, in 1905, according to a bio supplied to Patch from HEB headquarters in San Antonio. He attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and graduated in 1947 with a degree in business. Sooon after graduating, he married his longtime sweetheart, Barbara Dan Gerber, company officials said.

While working in the family business, Howard, Jr., continued to pursue spiritual endeavors, creating the Layman’s Leadership Institute with evangelist Billy Graham, which hosted national faith-based programs for business professionals, company officials said. In recognition of his efforts on behalf of workers, Butt was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to the first Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity.

In 1982, he was tapped to the presidency of the H.E. Butt Foundation, which was founded in 1933 by Howard Butt Sr. and Mary Elizabeth Holdsworth Butt.

"As one of the earliest private foundations in Texas, the H.E. Butt Foundation served as a vehicle for philanthropic contributions to south Texas communities, and in 1954 acquired 1,900 acres in the rural Texas Hill Country to provide free outdoor camping facilities for underprivileged children, company officials said. "After Howard, Jr. took on leadership of the foundation, he was able to greatly expand his parents’ vision, serving more than 20,000 campers each year – almost one million to date – including from churches and other non-profit groups."

He also established the Laity Lodge Retreat Center in the Texas Hill Country west of San Antonio.

"As a bridge builder between the secular and religious worlds, Butt is perhaps best remembered for nationally convening groups from all walks of life for intellectual discussion and inspired reflection," company officials said.

Funeral service details weren't disclosed.

>>> Photo by Lisa Krantz, used with permission.