Clive Runnells Jr., TSCRA honorary director, died on April 26, 2019. He was 93. Runnells was born in Chicago on Jan. 16, 1926, to Clive Runnells Sr. and Mary Withers Runnells.

He was a graduate of St. Paul’s School in Concord, N.H. and Yale University. Great-grandson of legendary rancher Abel Head (Shanghai) Pierce, his roots run deep in Texas. He arrived in Houston in 1950. Early on, he worked for Pure Oil Company and Wilson Supply Company and pursued ranching interests in Matagorda and Brooks counties. He was a pioneer in both the mutual fund and cable television industries, serving on both the Investment Company Institute and National Cable Television boards and often advocating before Congress on their behalf. In the mid-70s, he organized Gulf Coast Cable Television. He was Chairman and CEO of Runnells Peters Cattle Company and Runnells Peters Feedyards.

Runnells’ civic and philanthropic activities were wide-ranging, from education to medical research to conservation. His strong commitment to protecting and preserving the natural resources of Texas motivated him to donate to The Nature Conservancy of Texas 3,148 acres of coastal wetlands and upland prairies along the Texas coast, an area now known as the Clive Runnells Family Mad Island Marsh Preserve.

Runnells is survived by his wife, Kathryn Smyth Runnells; two children, Helen (Ray) Runnells DuBois and Clive (Kathryn) Runnells III; four stepchildren, Amy Firestone (Hart) Goodrich, Jeff (Heather) Firestone, Calvin (Sally) Garwood, Samuel (Mary Sommers) Pyne; grandchildren, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, and a nephew, John S. Runnells III, also a TSCRA director.

Runnells was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Nancy Morgan Runnells; son Pierce Runnells, stepsons David Firestone and John Garwood; a brother, John Runnells II and his wife Louise; and his first wife Winifred Trimble Carter, mother of his children.

Memorial contributions in his name may be made to U.T. Health, Office of Development, P.O. Box 1321, Houston, TX 77251, directed to U.T. Health Stem Cell Research Program; Houston Audubon Society, 440 Wilchester Blvd, Houston, TX 77079; St. Paul’s School, 325 Pleasant St, Concord, NH 03301; or to a charity of your choice.

Published in the July 2019 Issue of The Cattleman Magazine