Howard Edward Butt Sr.

Howard Edward Butt Sr. (April 9, 1895 – March 12, 1991) was an American businessman, and CEO of the H-E-B grocery store chain, which was founded by his mother, Florence Thornton Butt, in 1905.

Early life Howard Butt was youngest of the three sons born to Charles Butt, a pharmacist from Memphis, and Florence Thornton Butt. The family moved to the drier climate of Kerrville, Texas, due to his father's tuberculosis, and in 1905, his mother opened a small grocery store below their apartment. Howard managed the store while in high school and then after graduation, moved to California, where he harvested grapes. After service in the Navy during World War I, he returned to Texas in 1919 to once again manage the family store.

Career In 1922, he switched the store from the traditional "credit-and-delivery" setup to "cash-and-carry" and expanded its lineup from basic groceries to include personal care products. His first attempt at expansion – establishing a feed store in Kerrville and three satellite stores in nearby towns – ended in failure. In 1926, he tried again and opened a second store in Del Rio, Texas, 150 miles to the southwest along the Rio Grande which was successful. In 1928, he borrowed $38,000 realizing the need to expand to areas with greater population. He purchased a further three stores in the Rio Grande Valley some 300 miles to the South near the Mexican border. His new strategy paid off and he moved the company headquarters to Harlingen, Texas, where he opened up a distribution center and established the Harlingen Cannery which packaged Texas-manufactured produce. Thereafter, the company grew rapidly expanding into Laredo (1929), Corpus Christi (1931), Austin (1938), and San Antonio (1943). They had four children: Howard E. Butt Jr. (September 8, 1927 – September 11, 2016), president of the H. E. Butt Foundation and founder of Christian learning center Laity Lodge. Margaret Eleanor Butt Crook served as director of Bread for the World. Her husband, William H. Crook, served as director of the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) and later as United States Ambassador to Australia. Charles Clarence Butt (born February 3, 1938), the chairman of H.E. Butt Grocery Company, and founder of The Holdsworth Center. Another child, Mary Beth Butt, who lived for only 10 days (November 17, 1943 – November 27, 1943), is buried beside Mary Elizabeth Holdsworth Butt at the Glen Rest Cemetery in Kerrville, Texas.

Butt was a lay minister in the Southern Baptist Church. In 1955, she was appointed by Texas Governor Allan Shivers to the governing board of Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools (later the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation). She served as the only woman member of the board for 18 years

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Butt to the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. Butt also helped establish the University of Corpus Christi, now part of the Texas A&M University System.