Bill Jeter

William Madison Jeter, III, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on April 20, 2012, in College Station. Bill was born January 29, 1941, in Houston, Texas, and graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School. Bill attended and played quarterback for Texas Tech University in Lubbock. After finishing his coursework in accounting at the University of Houston, he did his graduate work at Texas Tech and became a public accountant. He went to work for the former Ernst & Ernst, and rose quickly to a manager in the firm. Bill spent thirty years in management and executive positions in Houston companies, including Zim Energy, Century Papers, Fox & Company, and Ernst & Ernst. He also owned and operated several notable Houston restaurants, including Harrigan's, Johnny Angel, and the River Oaks Grill. Later in life, he went to work for Petrolon, Inc., where he became the CEO, and helped a small Houston-based company gain national recognition for its engine wear products, before the company was bought by Quaker State. Through the years, Bill touched the lives of countless individuals both professionally and personally. Bill was involved in numerous charities during his lifetime. He was a former Director for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and hosted their annual telethon; he was also a former president of Beta Alpha Psi, was involved significantly in the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, and was a staunch member of the Texas Tech Alumni Association. His career culminated in his position as the CEO of local charity Boys & Girls Harbor, Inc. He spent the final thirteen years of his life sharing his passion for the organization's mission to care for children from families in crisis. During this time, he served two terms on the State of Texas' Sunset Advisory Commission, and he was appointed the first civilian chairman on two state committees - the Executive Committee of the Office for Rural Community Affairs and the Governing Committee of the Texas Automobile Insurance Plan. Bill is preceded in death by his father, William M. Jeter, Jr., and his mother, Henrietta Bearmann Jeter. He is survived by his wife, Lea, by his five children: Jeffrey Madison and his wife Amy Schwartz Jeter of Austin; Jonathan Beard Jeter of Houston; James William Jeter of Houston; Sarah Lane Jeter of College Station; and Jarred Edward Jeter of College Station; and by his granddaughter, Allison Paige Jeter of Austin, whose second birthday he had the opportunity to celebrate just weeks before his passing. The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Bill's honor to Boys & Girls Harbor, Inc., P. O. Box 848, Houston, Texas 77001-0848. The family will receive guests on Monday, April 23 from 6 - 8pm at Forest Park Lawndale, located at 6900 Lawndale St., Houston, Texas 77023. Funeral service will be held at the Chapel of Angels at Forest Park Lawndale on April 24, at 2:30pm.