Joseph Evans Attwell (March 25, 1931 – October 27, 2007[1]) was the youngest managing partner of Vinson & Elkins, the largest law firm in Texas and the largest single law office in the world,[2] from 1981 to 1991.

J. Evans Attwell
BornMarch 25, 1931
DiedOctober 27, 2007
NationalityAmerican
OccupationLawyer
EmployerVinson & Elkins
Known forYoungest managing partner

He lived in Houston, Texas all his life, and was an owner of the Houston Rockets from 1986 to 1995 and Houston Astros from 1978 to 1994. He was the Chairman of the Board of the Welch Foundation[3] from 2005 until his death. Mr. Attwell also served on the board of American General Corporation for 40 years (now AIG), the board of Ocean Energy (now Devon Energy) and many other Fortune 500 and charitable boards. He was a two time Chairman of the Harris County Hospital District Board,[4] the second largest county hospital district in the world.[5] Attwell served as a Trustee of Rice University[6] where the J. Evans Attwell-Welch postdoctoral fellowships honor his name at the University's Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology.[7] He was awarded Rice's Gold Medal for extraordinary service to the University in 1997.[8]

He married Mary Petersen in March 1956.[9] They had five children and six grandchildren, one of whom is named after him.

References edit

  1. ^ Death Notices in Houston Chronicle, November 1, 2007
  2. ^ "Vinson & Elkins LLP - Centennial - Timeline".
  3. ^ Evans Attwell Archived 2007-08-20 at the Wayback Machine at Welch Foundation website
  4. ^ Biography at Board of Managers at Harris County Hospital District website
  5. ^ "Harris County Hospital District Receives Prestigious Medical Home Designation". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
  6. ^ Rice mourns trustee emeritus and alumnus Attwell, Rice University website, 2007-11-02
  7. ^ J. Evans Attwell-Welch postdoctoral fellowships at Rice University website, 2003-06-26
  8. ^ J. Evans Attwell Awarded Gold Medal. Rice University, 2007-05-08.
  9. ^ "Mary Petersen Attwell Obituary (1934 - 2017) Houston Chronicle". Legacy.com.