William Junia Hudspeth Jr, passed away on Sunday, November 28th, 2021. He was 82. Bill died of heart failure at his home in Austin, Texas, on his own terms, with his daughters by his side. He is survived by his sister Claire Daviss, daughters Ann Marie Hudspeth and Jenny Hudspeth Stone, grandchildren William “Will” Stone and Katherine Layne Stone, and countless lifelong friends that were his extended family. He was preceded in death by his parents, Billie Louise Boyd and William J. Hudspeth, and his younger brother, Robert Boyd Hudspeth.
Bill was born October 13, 1939 in Houston, Texas. He attended Montrose Elementary, River Oaks Elementary, Lanier Junior High, and Lamar High School, graduating in 1957. He received his B.A from Amherst College in Massachusetts, and was a member of the golf team and Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He married Clare Ritchie Hudspeth in 1963 and they were married for 32 years. He received his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1966.
Upon graduation, he stayed in Austin and went into banking, starting as a cashier at Capital National Bank. He worked his way up, serving as Vice President and Trust Officer of Austin National Bank and head of Republic Bank’s Trust Department. In 1987 he founded Austin Trust Company after Texas law was changed to authorize the incorporation of independent trust companies. Austin Trust Company is the first company to be chartered under the new law. Austin Trust Company was his calling and he was still working full time until just a few weeks ago.
He was a proud member of the following organizations: Texas and Travis County Bar Associations, the Real Estate, Probate, and Trust Law Section of the Texas Bar, Austin Assembly, and the Bachelors Club of Austin. He is Past President of the Young Men’s Business League and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Austin. He has also served as a Director of the Better Business Bureau, Austin Country Club, and as an Advisory Director of Caritas and the Arthritis Foundation.
However, his proudest membership was being a founding member of the Bluff Creek Ranch in San Saba, Texas (and author of their motto, “Fax merdam aut morire”). He spent many days there keeping the deer population under control and many late nights by the campfire solving the world’s problems with his lifelong friends. He was an avid hunter, fisherman, and caretaker of his father’s 1969 hunting Jeep, the Supergoat.
Golf was his lifelong devotion and nemesis. He started playing with his dad when he was 8 and played as often as he could. The hole-in-one he made on the Austin Country Club’s second hole in 2013 finally took away the sting of the dozens of clubs that had flown out of his hands over the years. A mentee of Harvey Penick, he was a scratch golfer in his prime, like his father. He co-founded the Waterloo Golf Tournament at Austin Country Club in 1974 and the Bluebonnet Hills Invitational golf tournament in 1992, whose motto was “Criticism will not be tolerated.”
He was a loyal and trustworthy supporter and would always have your back or bail you out of jail. He saw the best in people and gave them the benefit of the doubt. He was full of wisdom, jokes, and funny stories. He was humble, genuine, and never met a stranger.
A memorial service will be held Thursday, December 9th at 1:00 pm at Austin Country Club with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Arthritis Foundation in his honor.
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