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A. W. "Dub" Riter, Jr.
Appointed by
Term
Occupation
Date of Passing
A. W. RITER, JR. retired as Senior Chairman of the Board of NCNB Texas (now Bank of America) on September 30, 1988, a position he had held since June 30, 1988. He had served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank and its predecessors since August 1979. He had been President and Director of the Bank since December 1963, and Chairman of the Executive Committee since October 1973.
He served as a member of the board of directors of TCP Cable TV, Inc., until their merger with Cox Communications in 1999. Mr. Riter served as President and a member of the board of the Tyler Economic Development Council from its inception in 1988 to 1991.
Since 1992 he had served as Chairman of The University of Texas Health Center at Tyler Development Board, and he served as Chairman of The University of Texas at Tyler Development Board. He was past president of The University of Texas at Tyler Educational Foundation, Inc., and past chairman and president of the Texas Chest Foundation.
He served actively on the boards of the East Texas Communities Foundation, East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System, Regional East Texas Food Bank, Salvation Army, Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce, Tyler Junior College Foundation, and the United Way. He also served on the boards of the East Texas State Fair Association, East Texas Mental Health Association, Junior Achievement of Tyler, TISD Foundation, the Tyler Rose Museum, Inc., and the R.W. Fair Foundation and was a founding member of the All Saints Episcopal School advisory board.
At the State level, he was a life board member of the Texas Research League, having served as its treasurer for six years; he served two terms as president of the Texas Association of Taxpayers; and he was a past board member of the Texas Chamber of Commerce, having served as Vice Chairman for Administration and Finance for that organization. In June of 1989 Governor Bill Clements appointed Mr. Riter to the Texas Growth Fund Board of Trustees and in August of 1990 he was appointed by the Governor to the Teacher Retirement System Board of Trustees. He served in both of these positions until October 1, 1994. He served as a member of the Governor's Select Task Force on Public Education. He was also a member of the Governor's Business Council - Executive Committee and served on the Governor's Select Task Force on Public Education. He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the Chancellor's Council for The University of Texas System.
In early February 1997, he was appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate to serve as a member of the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System for a six-year term ending February 1, 2003. At the request of the Governor, Regent Riter continued to serve on the U. T. Board of Regents until his death on September 23, 2003. He was a Vice-Chairman of the U. T. Board of Regents and a member of the Finance and Planning Committee; the Facilities Planning and Construction Committee; and the Student, Faculty, and Staff Campus Life Committee.
He had been active in civic affairs and had served as President of the following organizations in the community: East Texas State Fair Association, East Texas Hospital Foundation, East Texas Symphony Association, Great Tyler Drug Free Business Initiative, Mother Francis Hospital Foundation, Texas Rose Festival Association, Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce, Tyler Economic Development Council, Tyler Industrial Foundation, The United Way, Willow Brook Country Club, The Plaza Club, and Tyler Petroleum Club. He was one of the founders and served as board chairman of the Better Business Bureau of Central East Texas.
Mr. Riter was an elder and trustee in the First Presbyterian Church of Tyler and had been involved in all phases of church work. He served as a Sunday school teacher, deacon, elder, and trustee and had always supported the ministries of that church when called upon. He was a former member of the board of directors of Grace Union Presbytery and was a past chairman of the Committee on Stewardship for the Presbytery. He actively participated in a non-denominational men's Bible study group that had met weekly for the past nineteen years.
He was married to the former Betty Jo Baxter, and they have two children - Mrs. Melinda Shoemaker and Whit Riter, both of whom reside in Tyler. Whit is associated with his father as a general partner in Pinstripe Investments and Melinda is a homemaker.
Mr. Riter received the W. C. Windsor Award as Tyler's Most Outstanding Young Man of the Year in 1958 and the T. B. Butler Award as Tyler's Most Outstanding Citizen of the Year 1968. In 1987, he was the recipient of the Patriot of the Year Award from The University of Texas at Tyler. In September of 1994, he and his wife were recipients of Tyler's All Saints Episcopal School "Flame of Excellence" award. In 1985 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame at New Mexico Military Institute. In addition, the Texas Chamber of Commerce named him East Texan of the Year for 1992. In 1993 he received a special citation from the Texas Industrial Development Council in recognition of outstanding leadership in economic development for the State of Texas. The East Texas Communities Foundation recognized him as the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser in 1996.
He served as a Class A Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 1969 to 1974 and was a past chairman and member of the Advisory Council of Financial Institutions for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. He was active in Texas banking for a number of years, serving as president of the Texas Bankers Association for the year 1984-85, the TBA's centennial year. He was a life member of Robert Morris Associates, the national association of bank loan officers, and served as president of the Texas Chapter of RMA in 1960. He was also active for a number of years with the American Bankers Association, serving several years on the Governing Council and various committees, and served a two-year term as State Vice President from Texas. He also served as a member of the Comptroller of the Currency's Regional Advisory Committee on Banking Policies and Practices.
last updated September 2003
Notes
Tyler Morning Telegraph, September 23, 2003
Tyler community and educational leader, A.W. "Dub" Riter Jr., who served as a University of Texas regent and was a retired banker, died Tuesday night. He was 79.
In early February 1997, he was appointed by Gov. George W. Bush to serve as a member of the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System for a six-year term ending Feb. 1, 2003. He was asked by Gov. Rick Perry to extend his term through the legislative session. He was a vice-chairman of the UT Board of Regents and a member of the Finance and Planning Committee; the Facilities Planning and Construction Committee; and the Student, Faculty and Staff Campus Life Committee.
Riter retired as senior chairman of the board for NCNB, now Bank of America, on Sept. 30, 1988. He served as chairman of the board and chief executive officer since October 1973. Dr. Rodney Mabry, UT Tyler president, said Riter would be greatly missed by the university and his friends. "It's a sad day for Tyler and for The University of Texas at Tyler. He was not only a regent who was friends with governors and now a president, but he was the heart and soul of the university the last several years," he said. Mabry said no meeting was too small for Riter's full attention and he paid attention to the smallest details helping wherever he was needed. "Nothing was too small for him to come to if it was going to help the university. His handprints in a very loving way were on every project we undertook. He was both the spark plug and the engine," he said.
Riter and his wife, Betty Jo, donated a $1.35-million gift to UT Tyler to create The Dub and B.J. Riter Millennium Carillon Tower and Plaza. Riter also served as chairman of the University of Texas Health Center at Tyler Development Board and the UT Tyler Development Board. Additionally, he was a past president of the UT Tyler Educational Foundation, Inc. and the Texas Chest Foundation, according to an UT biography.
Riter also served as a member of the board of directors of TCA Cable TV Inc., now Cox Communications, and as president and board member of the Tyler Economic Development Council from 1988 to 1991. This year, Riter received the Business Hall of Fame honor from Junior Achievement of Greater Tyler. He was a charter member of the local JA board. He received the W.C. Windsor Award as Tyler's Most Outstanding Young Man of the Year in 1958 and the T.B. Butler Award as Tyler's Most Outstanding Citizen of the Year 1968, according to a University of Texas biography. Additionally, in 1987, he received the Patriot of the Year award from UT Tyler. In 1994, Riter and his wife, Betty Jo, received the All Saints Episcopal School "Flame of Excellence" award. In 1985, he was inducted into the New Mexico Military Institute Hall of Fame, according to the biography. At the state level, he was a life board member of the Texas Research League, having served as its treasurer for six years; he served two terms as president of the Texas Association of Taxpayers; and he is a past board member of the Texas Chamber of Commerce, having served as vice chairman for Administration and Finance for that organization.
In June 1989, Gov. Bill Clements appointed Riter to the Texas Growth Fund Board of Trustees and in August of 1990 he was appointed by the governor to the Teacher Retirement System Board of Trustees. He served in both of these positions until October 1, 1994. He was currently serving as a member of the Governor's Select Task Force on Public Education. He was also a member of the Governor's Business Council - Executive Committee and the Governor's Select Task Force on Public Education. He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the Chancellor's Council for The University of Texas System. The Texas Chamber of Commerce named him East Texan of the year in 1992. Riter also received a special citation from the Texas Industrial Development Council and the East Texas Communities Foundation recognized him as outstanding volunteer fund-raiser in 1996. He was active in civic affairs and served as president of the East Texas State Fair Association, East Texas Hospital Foundation, East Texas Symphony Association, Great Tyler Drug Free Business Initiative, Mother Frances Hospital Foundation, Texas Rose Festival Foundation, Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce, Tyler Economic Development Council, Tyler Industrial Foundation, The United Way, Willow Brook Country Club, The Plaza Club and the Tyler Petroleum Club. Riter also served the boards of the East Texas Communities Foundation, the East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System, Regional East Texas Food Bank, Salvation Army and the Tyler Junior College Foundation.
Riter is survived by his wife, Betty Jo Baxter Riter; son and daughter-in-law, A.W. "Whit" Riter III and Cynthia; daughter and son-in-law, Melinda and Tom Shoemake; six grandchildren, Paxton Riter, Riter Kerr, Alysia Peyton, Caleb Kerr, Cameron Kerr, Caylyn Kerr; and great-grandchild, Riter Colton Kerr. Riter was an elder and trustee in the First Presbyterian Church of Tyler and served as a Sunday school teacher and deacon. Services are pending with Lloyd James Funeral Home.
Riter Center for Advanced Medicine is dedicated at
U. T. Health Center at Tyler Tuesday, June 07, 2005
With hundreds of orange and blue balloons soaring across the sky, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler on Friday dedicated the new Riter Center for Advanced Medicine.
The late A.W. “Dub” Riter, Jr., was a long-time supporter of UTHSCT. He served on UTHSCT’s Development Board and was chairman of the board from 1992 until August 2003. He was appointed to The University of Texas Board of Regents in 1997 and was still a regent when he died Sept. 23, 2003.
“This is a historic day for the Health Center. It is a great honor for us that this building, the former Ambulatory Care Center, will bear the Riter name,” UTHSCT President Dr. Kirk A. Calhoun told the crowd of about 150 people seated under a tent in front of the Riter Center.
“We’re naming this building for Dub Riter because we respect him and we love him. We care immensely about this man and about this facility. Dub Riter was the epitome of servant leadership, accountability, diversity, and excellence, the core values of the Health Center,” Dr. Calhoun said.
The Riter Center is a four-story, 100,000-square-foot building with 15 clinics, 99 exam rooms, and 13 procedure or treatment rooms. In 1997, it cost $12.8 million to construct the four-story building and finish out the first two floors, leaving the third and fourth floors empty shells. The third floor was finished and opened in May 1997.
The Center houses the Ralph and Mary Prince Pulmonary Center, the Pediatric Clinic, the Family Practice Clinic, the Center for Healthy Aging, the Center for Diabetes Control, the Robert B. Irwin Internal Medicine Clinic, the Women’s Diagnostic Center, and Surgical and Procedural Services.
Whit Riter, the son of Regent Riter, said his father had a vision for UTHSCT: to be a top-tier medical and research institution. That vision is becoming a reality, he said.
“UTHSCT now is researching pulmonary fibrosis, which is the disease that took dad,” Whit Riter said. In pulmonary fibrosis, the lungs become scarred, and patients with this condition have difficulty breathing. Many times its causes are unknown, though it tends to affect older people.
“What people here are doing in research will put a mark on this city and will put a mark on our family’s heart. Thank you for this honor,” he said. Herbert Buie, chairman of the UTHSCT Development Board, said “Dub Riter was a model leader. He and his leadership are sorely missed in this community. “He wanted health care for everyone, he wanted education for everyone, he wanted a spiritual walk of their choosing for everyone. His heart was to help people,” the development board chairman said.
Many local leaders attended the dedication, including U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler; former Chief Justice of the Texas 12th District Court of Appeals Judge Tom Ramey; Rep. Leo Berman; Smith County Judge Becky Dempsey; University of Texas at Tyler President Dr. Rod Mabry; Texas College Acting Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Neville Morgan; Tyler Junior College President Dr. Bill Crowe; and Tyler Mayor Joey Seeber. UTHSCT President Emeritus Dr. Ronald F. Garvey and former UTHSCT Director Dr. George A. Hurst also attended the dedication.
