Fort Worth philanthropist and legendary oilman William ‘Tex’ Moncrief dies at 101
William “Tex” Moncrief Jr., who was described as a “true legend” in the oil business and a “great philanthropist,” died Wednesday at the age of 101.
“He was incredibly generous, not only in Fort Worth, but around the world,” State Rep. Charlie Geren told the Star-Telegram. “The Moncrief name is all over Fort Worth. You can look at the UT Southwestern Moncrief Cancer Center, buildings at the Stock Show; he was just a very, very generous man. Fort Worth will miss him.”
Coming from a family that was a pioneer in the Fort Worth oil and gas industry, Moncrief joined the family business when he was just 10 years old and his father, “Monty,” discovered a 6-billion-barrel East Texas oilfield.
Continuing his father’s legacy, in 2010, Moncrief Offshore LLC struck an offshore field that held up to 6 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to a profile in Forbes.
But aside from his work in oil, Moncrief was known around Fort Worth, and Texas, for his generosity and donations to his community. Moncrief donated $100 million toward the UT Southwestern Medical Center, first at the Moncrief Cancer Institute and later for the Monty and Tex Moncrief Medical Center that opened in 2017.
“W.A. ‘Tex’ Moncrief was passionate in wanting to serve the health care needs of Fort Worth and communities throughout North Texas. There was never an individual more decisive in pursuing his passion,” said Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, president of UT Southwestern Medical Center. “His vision and remarkable generosity — always in honor of his admired father — has enabled UT Southwestern to serve legions of those in need.”
Podolsky added that Moncrief not only was passionate about creating an environment with medical expertise, “but also lifted the spirits of those in need of help.”
“Tex Moncrief leaves an indelible imprint on North Texas through his generosity of spirit,” Podolsky said.
The 101-year-old was the president of the William A. and Elizabeth B. Moncrief Foundation, a nonprofit which helped educational, health, civic and cultural organizations at universities and schools around Texas. In 2001, he was honored into the Texas Philanthropy Hall of Fame.
Moncrief also served during World War II and “received a commission in the U.S. Naval Reserve and was trained at Harvard as a communications officer,” according to a University of Texas Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering distinguished alumni biography. “Serving in the Pacific, Tex’s flotilla had received orders to invade Japan when the Japanese surrendered,” the biography reads. “Tex returned to Fort Worth and joined his father in the oil business.”
Moncrief’s death comes nearly a year after the death of his son C.B. “Charlie” Moncrief, who passed away in January at the age of 71. Tex Moncrief would have been 102 in March.
Greenwood Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.
This report contains information from the Star-Telegram’s archives.
This story was originally published December 29, 2021 at 12:17 PM.
