The family of the late Howard E. Butt, Jr., today announced a $1 million donation to support Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts in the hardest hit areas along the Gulf Coast.

Barbara Dan Butt (widow), and their three children, Howard Butt III, Stephen Butt, and Deborah Dan Butt Rogers, have joined together in a personal contribution to the Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group Fund in honor of their husband and father, Howard E. Butt Jr., who passed away last year.

“We know no better way to honor our father, Howard E. Butt Jr. and his legacy, than by extending a helping hand to the victims of Hurricane Harvey, along the Coastal Bend of Texas,” said Howard Butt III.

“Corpus Christi and the Gulf Coast have been home to our family for many years,” added Stephen Butt. “It's our privilege to support our great HEB Partners (employees) and Gulf Coast friends as a strong recovery and rebuilding plan gets underway.”

The Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group was established in late 2015 following the Memorial Weekend floods and follows the best practices of National Voluntary Organizations Assisting in Disaster. Case managers guide individuals through the FEMA process and work with sponsor organizations to address unmet needs for full recovery. They are focused on addressing the unmet needs for low income, elderly, disabled, single parent households, and US veterans in the seven-county region (Aransas, Bee, Jim Wells, Kleberg, Nueces, Refugio and San Patricio).

A check for $1 million was presented by Rob Hall, H-E-B Group VP/GM of the Gulf Coast Region and Winell Herron, H-E-B Group VP of Public Affairs, Diversity and Environmental Affairs at First United Methodist Church of Sinton (405 W Sinton St, Sinton, TX 78387) on Tuesday, October 17, 2017 at 2:30 p.m.

“We are grateful for the Butt family’s contribution and so touched by their generosity,” said Rev. Beth Tatum, President, Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group. “Their support will ensure we have the necessary support to readily activate and begin to help our community.”

The Butt family’s donation will support the hardest hit areas along the Gulf Coast, including Aransas Pass, Bayside, Ingleside, Port Aransas, Refugio, Rockport and Woodsboro.

“The Gulf Coast, specifically Corpus Christi and Port Aransas, meant so much to our father, who would have celebrated his 90th birthday last month. I can’t think of a better way to honor him,” said Deborah Dan Butt Rogers.

Born in Kerrville, Texas, on Sept. 8, 1927, Howard E. Butt, Jr., grew up in the grocery business founded by his grandmother, Florence, in 1905. While working in the family business, Howard, Jr., dedicated himself to building a lay ministry through his leadership of the H.E. Butt Family Foundation. Over 50 years, Butt’s ministry touched many lives of South Texans through Laity Lodge, authoring books on Christian Leadership, and a series of popular, nationally, broadcast radio spots, “The High Calling of Our Daily Work”. Butt died at his San Antonio home on September 11, 2016 following an extended illness with Parkinson’s.