Daniel R. "Rudy" Bechtel

1946 - 2013

Daniel R. "Rudy" Bechtel, a Fort Worth native and polymath whose creativity took him from Harvard Business School to Madison Avenue to lifting next generations, died Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in Fort Worth. He was 66. Memorial service: Noon Thursday at St. Stephen Presbyterian Church, 2700 McPherson, Fort Worth. A memorial service also will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at Church of the Incarnation, 3966 McKinney Ave., Dallas, where Rudy was a faithful parishioner for 16 years and past member of the Honduras Mission Team. Memorials: Memorials may be made to Church of the Incarnation/Honduras Missions Scholarship Fund; St. Stephen Presbyterian Church/Missions Fund; or the Rudy Bechtel Communications Scholarship Fund at the Department of Communications, University of Texas at Arlington, Attention: Dr. Tom Ingram. Daniel was born Dec. 13, 1946, in Dallas. At the close of the famed Mad Men era, at New York powerhouses such as McCann-Erickson, Grey Advertising and Lintas Worldwide, Rudy's work shaped household items such as Nestle, Kool-Aid, Jif Peanut Butter, Miller Lite and Coca-Cola. His was the original award-winning team that developed, launched and managed the legendary ads ("Tastes great! Less filling!") for Miller Lite and Miller High Life. As senior vice president at Lintas, over Coca-Cola, he steered one of the world's largest advertising and promotion businesses. He and his team developed and launched the highly acclaimed marketing for Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Classic and Columbia Pictures Video releases, winning three "Effies" and Ad Age's Brand of the Decade. At PBS/WNET in New York, as vice president of marketing and program development, Rudy innovated new blends of marketing and fundraising. In 1990, he returned to Fort Worth to help manage B-Square, the family business in outdoor sports equipment, where he helped double sales, leading to its later acquisition by Armour Holdings (NYSE). In a storied and creative career, Rudy's tireless mind and insatiable interests took him into the new Internet (Flashnet), prepared meals (Cooking Fresh) and local community service on the boards of the Alzheimer's Association, Communities In Schools, Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau, Historic Fort Worth and many others. He was a past director of USA Shooting, the governing body for Olympic shooting sports in the U.S. For the past eight years, Rudy was the "creative genius" and a beloved colleague in the Department of Communications at the University of Texas at Arlington. Known for coming alongside his students, his groups competed for and won national recognition. Recently named a Service Learning Fellow, Rudy initiated a sponsored tutoring program matching UTA students to at-risk students in the Arlington ISD. "He was a wonder," one colleague said. "He was well-informed, up-to-the minute, and he cared so much for others." Rudy earned a BA in government and an MA in communications at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his MBA from Harvard University. He honorably served in the U.S. Army at Fort Lee, Va., as captain, Quartermaster Corps. Rudy was preceded in death by his mother, Margaret Goldmann Bechtel. Survivors: His father, Daniel L. Bechtel; sister, Catherine Bechtel Team and her husband, Charles B. "C.B." Team III; nephews, C.B. Team IV and his fiancee, Lauren Vaughn, and Craig Team and his fiancee, Kate Taylor, all of Fort Worth; nieces, Danielle Team of Alma, Colo., and Lisa B. Team and family of Savannah, Ga.; aunt, Mrs. Ted B. Goldmann; and cousin, Ann Uloth and her husband, Doug.