Jack Sawtelle Blanton (December 7, 1927 - December 28, 2013) was an American oil industry executive, philanthropist, and civic leader.
He was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, the son of William N. Blanton (June 23, 1890 – November 27, 1967) and Louise G. Wynn (September 21, 1898 – July 5, 1989). Blanton was raised in Houston, Texas, where his father was general manager of the chamber of commerce. After attending Lamar High School, Blanton earned a B.A. degree at University of Texas at Austin (UT) in 1947 with a double major in government and history, and an L.L.B. at UT Law School in 1950.[ citation needed ]
In 1950 Blanton began working for Eddy C. Scurlock at Scurlock Oil Company in the Division Order Department. He rose through the company ranks to become its president in 1958, and eventually CEO and chairman in 1983, [1] a year after the company was sold to Ashland Oil. He retired from his position in 1988 to become the president of Eddy Refining Company, his final job. [2]
Blanton was married three times. He married Laura Lee Scurlock (June 4, 1928 – August 6, 1999), daughter of Eddy C. Scurlock; the Laura Lee Blanton Building at Southern Methodist University is named for her. After her death, he married Lucinda B. Bailey (November 4, 1934 – March 2, 2002) on 14 November 2000. She also preceded Blanton in death; he and Virginia "Ginger" Nelson were married on November 30, 2002 (she survived his passing). [3] He and his first wife had three children: Elizabeth Louise Blanton (born February 1, 1951), Jack Sawtelle Blanton Jr. (born July 28, 1953), and Eddy Scurlock Blanton (born May 25, 1955).
Blanton was a civic leader in Houston, where he served as the chairman of the board of Houston Endowment Inc. He also served on the boards of The Methodist Hospital Healthcare System, the Texas Medical Center, the Houston Zoo, and the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University, among others. From 1985 to 1991, he was a Regent of the University of Texas, appointed by Governor Mark White. He served as chairman from 1987 to 1989. During this time, Blanton had a hand in influencing the Texas Legislature to increase support for the University of Texas System.
During the oil and real estate crises of the 1980s, Blanton served as chairman of the Greater Houston Chamber of Commerce, where he notably helped resolve conflict with effective communication and good working relations.[ citation needed ]
In 1997, the University of Texas at Austin renamed its art museum the Blanton Museum of Art in his honor after receiving a $12 million donation from Houston Endowment Inc. [3]
William Perry Clements Jr. was an American businessman and Republican Party politician who served two nonconsecutive terms as the governor of Texas between 1979 and 1991. His terms bookended the sole term served by Mark Wells White, a Democrat who defeated Clements in the 1982 election only to lose his campaign for reelection in 1986.
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The Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin is one of the largest university art museums in the U.S. with 189,340 square feet devoted to temporary exhibitions, permanent collection galleries, storage, administrative offices, classrooms, a print study room, an auditorium, shop, and cafe. The Blanton's permanent collection consists of more than 21,000 works, with significant holdings of modern and contemporary art, Latin American art, Old Master paintings, and prints and drawings from Europe, the United States, and Latin America.
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Eddy Clark Scurlock was an American oil industry tycoon, entrepreneur, millionaire, and philanthropist, who founded the Scurlock Oil Company; the Eddy Refining Company; and the charitable organization Scurlock Foundation in Houston, Texas.
The Scurlock Foundation is a charitable organization located in Houston, Texas, with the goal to provide funding for medical research, health care, religion, education, recreation, the arts, and animal protection, as well as other charitable enterprises.
Scurlock is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
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