Howard Lindsey Terry

Howard Terry was born in Milam County in 1916. He attended the University of Texas at Austin on an athletic scholarship and earned his B.B.A. in 1938. He attended the university on a football scholarship and always credited that scholarship as one of the most important events in his life. In 1937, as captain of the Longhorns, he participated in a stunning upset victory at Baylor. That victory won Terry and his team the Grantland-Rice Award. Upon their return to Austin, Terry and the Longhorn team saw the UT Tower lit for the first time in honor of their victory.

Terry was employed by Procter & Gamble until 1942, when he entered the U.S. Navy and served as a P.T. Boat Captain in the Pacific during World War II. He later returned to Procter & Gamble, from which he was recruited to set up a chain of appliance stores, serving as General Manager until 1951. At that time, Mr. Terry went into business for himself in lumber, construction, and development, building several residential subdivisions in Texas and other states.

Over the following years, Howard Terry founded several businesses in various fields, including Business Funds, Marathon Manufacturing, Crutcher Resources, Allied Bancshares, and Farm & Home Savings. Beginning in 1979, he became a director and chairman of the executive committee of Penn Central Corp., a position he held until 1986. In 1981, he founded the Terry Companies, a multi-state corporation involved in oil & gas exploration and development.

In 1987, Terry and his wife Nancy founded the Terry Foundation, an education non-profit dedicated to providing four-year scholarships to Texas residents for attendance at Texas universities. Over the years, the Terry Foundation grew to be the largest private source of scholarships in the state. Now sponsoring almost 800 Terry Scholars at eight Texas universities, the Foundation has funded college degrees for 2,600 students since inception. The Foundation is chartered to exist into perpetuity and will continue to provide for Texas students after Howard Terry’s death. Howard Terry was active in the operations of the Terry Foundation for his entire long life. He worked his usual day in the Foundation offices on the day before he died.

Howard Terry was preceded in death by his son Michael, and is survived by his wife Nancy; son, Harry Terry; and daughters, Suzann Terry Smith, Victoria Terry Steinhoff, and Cindy Terry Hempel; grandchildren, Grace Borgeson, John Terry, David Terry, Cameron Smith, Michael Smith, Suzann Smith, Katherine Boeker, Kelsey Gray, Michael McConnell, Jessica Terry, Macon Terry, Tracy Becker, Amanda Bookter and Steven Hempel; and 18 great-grandchildren.

The family would like to express their thanks to Dora Darst, Dalia Dominguez, Nicka Hicks, and Shala Russell for their wonderful care - and to Beth Freeman, Ed Cotham and the entire staff of the Terry Foundation.

Friends are cordially invited to greet the family during a reception and memorial to the life of Howard Terry at four o’clock in the afternoon on Wednesday, the 25th of April, at the River Oaks Country Club, 1600 River Oaks Boulevard in Houston. A uniformed steward from Geo. H. Lewis & Sons is to be positioned in the entrance hall so as to direct guests to the designated venue.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions be directed to the Terry Foundation, 3104 Edloe St., Suite 205, Houston, TX, 77027; or to the charity of one’s choice.