SAN ANTONIO – Howard Butt Jr., the brother of H-E-B CEO Charles Butt, died Sunday evening. He was 89.

Butt served as president of the H.E. Butt Foundation and vice chairman of the H-E-B board for several decades.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of my brother, Howard," Charles Butt said in a statement. "His decades of inspired leadership, philanthropy and humanitarian efforts will forever be missed by our family and those he impacted across the U.S."

Butt, who was born in Kerrville on Sept. 8, 1927, grew up in the food business founded by his grandmother, Florence, in 1905. He attended Baylor University in Waco and graduated in 1947 with a degree in business, then married his longtime sweetheart, Barbara Dan Gerber.

Butt and evangelist Billy Graham created the Layman's Leadership Institute, which hosted national faith-based programs for business professionals. In recognition of his efforts on behalf of workers, Butt was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to the first Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity.

Butt was selected In 1982 to assume the presidency of the H.E. Butt Foundation, which was founded in 1933 by Howard Butt Sr. and Mary Elizabeth Holdsworth Butt. As one of the earliest private foundations in Texas, the H.E. Butt Foundation served as a vehicle for philanthropic contributions to South Texas communities, and in 1954 acquired 1,900 acres in the rural Texas Hill Country to provide free outdoor camping facilities for underprivileged children.

After the younger Butt took on leadership of the foundation, he expanded his parents' vision, serving more than 20,000 campers each year, including from churches and other nonprofit groups. He also established the Laity Lodge Retreat Center west of San Antonio.

Remembrances may be sent to the Friends of The H.E. Butt Foundation, P.O. Box 290670, Kerrville, Texas 78029-0670.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Trinity Baptist Church, 319 E. Mulberry Ave. in San Antonio.

Porter Loring Mortuary is assisting the family with arrangements.

H-E-B is the largest family-owned company in Texas.