LOCAL Houston | The City Guide FEBRUARY 2016 | Page 55

FOOD | ARTS | COMMUNITY | STYLE+LEISURE

YOU’VE SEEN A GREAT DEAL OF CHANGE IN HOUSTON. YOU’VE BEEN A GREAT
CHANGE IN HOUSTON. WHAT DO YOU SEE IN THE FUTURE FOR THE GREATER
HOUSTON AREA?
I see more of everything. Houston is the greatest city! It is a wonderful
place for new people, it is accepting of everyone, and it can take a belly
punch. Business is good right now, but there were times over my last 60

I AM 87, HAVE NO
PLANS TO RETIRE,
LOVE WHAT I DO AND
WORK EVERY DAY
WITH MY WIFE AND
DAUGHTER. WHAT
MORE COULD
I ASK FOR?

years in business when the market was down, when the economy was
less than ideal for real estate, or when there were national crises that
affected the city, but Houston always bounced back. There is something
for everyone in Houston, whether it is the unparalleled museum district,
our amazing restaurants, the genius in our medical center or simply the
great people. As homebuilders, we meet people from all over the world
moving to Houston, and each one is as enthusiastic about our city as we
are. So more of that enthusiasm, that acceptance of new business and
new people is what I see for the future.
WHERE DID YOU START YOUR CAREER?
My first job was at Western Auto followed by a job at Hughes Tool
Company when I was 13. At age 16, I joined the Merchant Marines and
worked my way to second engineer, which allowed me to travel the
world for the next 12 years. During this time as a mariner, I learned to
play poker and eventually won enough to build my first home when I
returned to Houston in 1957. That year my building company was born
and it has led me to a lot of success and happiness. In 1964, I bought
my first bank, which ultimately expanded into a wide variety of financial
services, which included insurance, mortgage financing and savings
and loans. Land development and the custom home business has been
the mainstay of the company and what we focus on now.

CAN YOU COMPARE THE FIRST SINGLE-FAMILY HOME YOU BUILT TO KICKERILLO
CUSTOM HOMES’ TYPICAL SINGLE-FAMILY HOME BUILT TODAY?
Style-wise I cannot compare the first single-family home I built to the
homes we build today. The scale, type of materials and efficiency with
which we build has changed 180 degrees, but the attention to detail,
quality and the integrity of the crews I use has remained the same.
DO YOU LIVE IN YOUR AND YOUR WIFE’S DREAM HOME
CURRENTLY?
We do. Mary and I live in our dream home. I broke ground on our home
on January 1, 1963, and moved in on July 4, 1963. It took me 6 months
to build and over the years we have remodeled, rebuilt and modified it
many times. Mary and I did a major renovation to it in 1983 with
designer