Howard E. Butt (1927–2016)

Howard Edward Butt Jr. was born in Kerrville, Texas on September 8, 1927. His family owned the supermarket chain H-E-B. At the age of 12, he worked as a supermarket cashier. He received a degree in business from Baylor University in 1947. He was managing his own store in 1948 and became a lay show more evangelical minister. The dual pressures of the business and his spiritual pursuits led to severe depression. In the 1960s, he gave up the vice presidency of day-to-day operations at H-E-B and ceded the role to his brother, Charles. In 1982, Howard Butt became the company's vice chairman and president of the H.E. Butt Family Foundation, which was a philanthropy for underprivileged children. He expanded it to support hospitals, libraries and Christian retreats that integrated religious faith and business leadership. His book, Renewing America's Soul: A Spiritual Psychology for Home, Work and Nation, was published in 1996. In 2000, he began giving a one-minute radio homily, The High Calling of Our Daily Life, which highlighted the role that faith has played in the successful careers and personal lives of ordinary people. He died from complications of Parkinson's disease on September 11, 2016 at the age of 89. (Bowker Author Biography) show less