William Griffith Lawhon

Bill was born on the 9th of April 1942 to Virginia Vinson Lawhon and James Griffith Lawhon. In 1965, he married Elaine Seewald, from Amarillo, Texas who he met on a blind date at the University of Texas. Bill graduated from Lamar High School (Houston) in 1960, from the University of Texas in 1964 with a B.A. and from the University of Texas Law School in 1967 with a J.D. While in law school, he was a member of the Order of the Barristers and the Legal Research Board and participated in Moot Court competition and was a Hildebrand Finalist in 1966 and 1967.

After law school, Bill practiced law with the Butler & Binion law firm for 33 years, where he became partner in 1976 and served on the Management Committee and as Administrative Partner of the Real Estate, Energy and Environmental Law Section. From November 1999 to 2016, he practiced law with Schlanger, Silver, Barg & Paine law firm. Bill was certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Commercial Real Estate Law, Residential Real Estate Law and Farm and Ranch Real Estate Law. He was a member of the State Bar of Texas and of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Section, the Environmental Law Section and the Business Law Section. He was a member of the Houston Bar Association and of the Real Estate Law Section, where he served as Director from 1994 through 1996, and was an HBF Fellow. Bill was designated a Texas Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly magazine and one of Houston's Top Lawyers by H Texas magazine.

Bill was a member of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church and before that, First Presbyterian Church of Houston. He was a member of the Houston Country Club, Friends of Bayou Bend, and Texas Children's Hospital Ambassadors. He served as Chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustment for the City of Piney Point Village from 1989 through 2006. Bill served in the United States Naval Reserves, Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps for 14 years, and retired with the rank of Lieutenant Commander in 1982.

Bill is a sixth generation Texan, and is a direct descendant of David E. Lawhon, who came to Texas in 1835 and his wife Nancy Carr, the daughter of one of Stephen F. Austin's "Old Three Hundred" colonists in Texas. Bill is a third generation Houstonian, the grandson of William Ashton Vinson, the founder of the Vinson & Elkins law firm, and of Thomas Jefferson Lawhon, General Counsel for The Texas Company (now Chevron Texaco).

Bill is preceded in death by his parents, James Griffith Lawhon and Virginia Vinson Lawhon, and by his brother, Robert Ashton Lawhon. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Elaine Seewald Lawhon, his daughter, Leslie Lawhon Biggs and her husband, Andrew Morgan Biggs, and his daughter Christine Lawhon James and her husband, Lewis Samuel "Chip" James IV, and his daughter, Laura Lawhon Evans and her husband, Rian Kristopher Evans, and his sister, Virginia Lawhon Park, and his sisters-in-law, Susan Harvin Lawhon and Gloria Seewald Frank, brother-in-law Stanton Roach Seewald and wife Marjorie, his eight grandchildren, Christian Biggs and Will Biggs; Lewis Samuel "Elis" James V, Virginia "Gigi" James and Loralee James; Vinson Evans, Peter Evans, and Drew Evans, and many cherished cousins, nieces and nephews.

The family is grateful for the many years of care for Bill and all the Lawhon family by Mary Lee Montgomery.

The memorial service is to be conducted at one o’clock in the afternoon on Thursday, the 2nd of January, in the Chapel of Memorial Drive Presbyterian, 11612 Memorial Drive in Houston.

Immediately following, all are invited to a reception with the family in the adjacent Parlor.

The family will gather for a private graveside service at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery, 6900 Lawndale Street in Houston.

In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions in honor of William may be directed to Bo’s Place, 10050 Buffalo Speedway, Houston, Texas 77054, bosplace.org, Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Center online at give.texaschildrens.org, or to a charity of one’s choice.