Al G. Hill Jr, R.I.P.

December 4, 2017 | Candy Evans | | R.I.P.

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Al Hill, Jr. & daughter Heather Washburne, photo courtesy of CultureMap

We are saddened to report the loss of one of Dallas’ most dynamic entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and real estate aficionados, Al G. Hill, Jr.

The Dallas Morning News reports that Al died in his sleep at his Highland Park home on Lakeside Drive Saturday night at age 72.

His death marks a significant loss in a huge Texas family dynasty. Al Hill was the oldest grandson of Texas oilman H.L. Hunt, who for decades was known as the richest man in America, and who amassed a multi billion dollar fortune for his descendants.

The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge west of downtown over the Trinity River is named for Hill’s mother, Margaret Hunt, who died in 2007. His father, Albert Hill Sr., was a dashing tennis player and independent oil and gas producer who married Margaret at Mount Vernon, the former Hunt estate at 4009 West Lawther Drive on White Rock Lake, now owned by Teresa and John Amend. The home has been listed for as much as $32.5 was last listed with Allie Beth Allman for $17.5. Al’s father died in 1988.

According to Alan Peppard, who was a personal friend, “the family sold Margaret Hunt Hill’s company, Hunt Petroleum, to XTO Energy for $4.2 billion.”

Al Hill and his family were major players in real estate, and when I first launched CandysDirt.com, I interviewed Al on a number of occasions. He was one of our earliest supporters. He loved to talk real estate and invested heavily in it. His family purchased Highland Park Village for $171 million in 2009 and launched the long-term upgrades that has changed it from an upscale community shopping center to one of the premier luxury retail centers in the country. Highland Park Village can hold its own with Rodeo Drive and Fifth Avenue.

And Al loved beautiful homes, which he built all over Dallas, most recently in Highland Park with his family.

The saddest story of all is Al’s long-term legal dispute with his son, Al G. Hill III, who once lived in Highland Park.

Some of Alan Peppard’s very best writing can be found in this Vanity Fair piece that every North Texan should read, “Oil In the Family“. Silly title, I always thought; sure it came from a NYC editor.

Much will be written about Al in the next few days and his huge impact on Dallas. Our hearts go out to his family over this tremendous loss.

Hill was an oilman, developer, feature-film producer, charter-jet operator and thoroughbred racehorse owner. But he will forever be known for bringing tennis into the professional era.

In 1968, he co-founded World Championship Tennis with his uncle, American Football League co-founder and Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt, and promoter Dave Dixon.

Al and his uncle changed tennis forever, as they took stars from making a few hundred dollars a week to a career earning millions through marketing.

Al was confined to a wheelchair after suffering a spinal injury from falling off the porch of his home in 2003. But the wheelchair did not slow him down one bit, and he made his home wheel-chair adaptive.

“He had an incredibly strong sense of community,” said Joe O’Brien, president and chief executive of Hill’s A.G. Hill Partners. “He loved to tour the area from his helicopter and track the growth of the metroplex. Because of his pride in Dallas and Texas, his philanthropy was incredibly widespread.”

Al Hill was a graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio, my son’s alma mater, where he built the Al G. Hill, Jr. Tennis Stadium. He also supported the Baylor Healthcare Foundation, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Dallas Historical Society, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, Center for BrainHealth, The Family Place, St. Mark’s School of Texas and North Texas Food Bank, among others.

Politically active his entire life, he was scheduled to attend a Christmas party at the White House next week, says Alan.

In addition to his son, Al III, who lives in Atlanta, Al is survived by daughters Heather Washburne and Elisa Summers, nine grandchildren, and sisters Lyda Hill and Alinda Wikert.

Memorials may be sent to Baylor Scott & White Healthcare Foundation, 3600 Gaston Ave., Barnett Tower, Suite 100, Dallas, TX 75246.