William J. “Bill” Hill was a sixth-generation Texan and lifelong Houston resident who left an indelible mark on his cherished Houston community as well as the state’s cultural landscape before his passing in 2018.
Bill was as well known for his generosity as he was for his business acumen as the founder of Houston Oil Producing Enterprises (HOPE). Bill’s great success in business afforded him the opportunity to give back and give big to numerous Houston organizations.
Outside of his business and philanthropic endeavors, Bill greatly enjoyed collecting rare Texas-made furniture and partaking in Texas’ oldest pastimes of fishing and hunting. Bill’s passion for collecting early Texas-made furniture and metalwork was unmatched, and he delighted in delving through countless estate sales and flea markets for his next big find. And, to ensure that the legacies of these Texas artisans would not be lost with time, Bill established the William J. Hill Texas Artisans & Artists Archive of Bayou Bend, an online resource that catalogues over 100,000 nineteenth century Texas artisans and artists.
When not on the hunt for furniture, Bill found great joy in fishing and bird hunting. “I had the pleasure of meeting Bill several years before his passing,” remarked Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation (TPWF) Executive Director Anne Brown. “His love of Houston, of Texas at large, and of our wild things and wild places was apparent from the start. He was eager to find the perfect way to pay forward his good fortune for the benefit of all who love Texas’ proud outdoor traditions as much as he did.”
In a final act of generosity that reflects his enduring love for Texas, Bill Hill made a legacy gift from his estate to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (TFFC) in Athens, which has welcomed over a million visitors since it opened in 1996. The landmark contribution helped TPWF fund an extensive multi-million-dollar renovation that is currently underway at TFFC, which includes refurbishing the popular Dive Theater and its 25,000-gallon dive tank, renovating four large outdoor aquaria exhibits, installing four new outdoor fisheries tanks, and greatly enhancing the indoor exhibits and overall visitor experience.
“We couldn’t have embarked on this historic renovation to reimagine TFFC for rising generations of Texans without the selfless generosity of Bill Hill,” said TPWD Director of Inland Fisheries Tim Birdsong. “His evergreen legacy will live on through the tens of thousands of school children, families, and aspiring anglers we will welcome through TFFC’s doors every passing year.”
Find out more about how you, too, can leave a wild legacy with a planned gift to TPWF by contacting Amy Allen at 469.895.9514 or aallen@tpwf.org.
