Lance McFaddin

1940 - 2019

Lance C. McFaddin
1940-2019
Lance McFaddin, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend passed away peacefully with his family by his side on Friday, the 22nd of November 2019. He was just shy of celebrating his 79th birthday.
Lance was born on the 10th of December 1940, the only son and second child of O. L. and Eleanor McFaddin. Together with his sisters Janet and Jean he grew up in Lufkin, TX, before attending Southern Methodist University, where he was an active member and President of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and a University Scholar.
True to the entrepreneurial spirit Lance was famous for, he moved back to Lufkin after college and soon started Lufkin Properties with his childhood friend Arthur "Buddy" Temple, III and Michael Harrell. With five Holiday Inns in their portfolio, Lance had the insight of realizing the hotel bars were full of unrealized potential. He took them on as special projects and soon transformed them into the local hotspots.
Lance then partnered with Arthur Meyer and served as president of Servico, eventually helping to build a company that owned and operated over 30 hotel properties that were highly successful, in no small part due to Lance's now realized talent of transforming what were once boring hotel lobby bars into exciting and dynamic nightclubs and restaurants.
Building on these successes, Lance moved to Houston in 1974 and formed McFaddin Kendrick with his college fraternity brother, Sam Kendrick. Together they set about building a hotel, nightclub and restaurant company that was subsequently split into Vista Host and McFaddin Ventures, after Sam's untimely passing in 1981.
With his operations business partner, Michael Harrell, Lance helped grow Vista Host into a highly successful, national hotel management and development company. And McFaddin Ventures ultimately developed over 46 award winning nightclubs and 35 restaurants that had a significant impact on the cultural scene during the 70's and 80's, with such concepts as Todd's, elan, Confetti, Cowboy, RnR, Studebaker's, and the Ocean Club…just to name a few.
While perhaps best remembered for his high-profile clubs and restaurants, Lance was, in fact, very active in other areas of real estate. Over the course of his professional life, Lance, through his various companies and partnerships, acquired, developed, and/or managed over 70 hotels, 1 million square feet of Class A office space, 700,000 feet of retail shopping centers, 180 acres of residential lots, and several thousand apartment units.
Lance was respected by business associates as an extremely energetic and creative, out-of-the-box thinker. But by friends and family he was loved for his sense of humor; his faith; his appreciation for architecture, art, and fashion; his love for coconut cream pie and Blue Bell vanilla ice cream; laughter; and, above all, his genuine empathy and the interest he took in those around him. Lance, a man who was gifted in so many ways, always considered his greatest gift to be his ability to recognize the talents in those around him and become their cheerleader. This gift is perhaps best evidenced, not by the numerous awards and accolades he received over his professional career, but rather by the "I worked for Lance McFaddin" Facebook group that, to this day, has nearly 500 members who still stay in regular touch and hold regular reunions across the country.
Lance's greatest joy in life was his family. Preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Lance is survived by his wife of 42 years, Anne McFaddin of Houston, TX; daughter, Laura Goodman and her husband Gene of Dallas, Texas; daughter, Jessica McFaddin and her husband Bill Magness of Austin, Texas; daughter, Leigh McFaddin of Los Angeles, CA; stepson Derek Anderson and his wife Connie of Houston, TX; stepson Brian Anderson and his wife Wendi of Austin, TX; and stepson Nicholas Anderson and his wife Julia of Austin, TX. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Drew, Michael, Sarah, Des, Andrew, Evan, Becket, Quinn, Avery, Arden, Wren, and Grace. In addition, he is survived by numerous nieces and nephews, and cousins, who, as evidenced by the outpouring of affection during his last hours, all loved him dearly.
In accordance with his wishes and true to Lance's simple tastes, his family will not hold a public memorial service, but rather celebrate his life and memory with immediate family members to the sounds of his favorite songs.
In lieu of customary remembrances, and for those desiring, the family suggests contributions in memory of Lance Clark McFaddin be directed to MD Anderson Cancer Center or Saint Martin's Episcopal Church, Houston, TX.