Jim Elkins, a businessman, significant figure at Texas Medical Center, and a member of one of Houston’s most prominent families, died of a heart attack June 10, 2010, while on vacation with his family in France.
Jim received his bachelor’s in economics from Princeton and an M.B.A. from the University of Texas School of Business. He worked in New York at the Morgan Guaranty Trust before returning to Houston in the late 1970s to work at First City National Bank, which had been founded by his grandfather. Most recently, Elkins co-founded the asset-management firm Houston Trust Co.
Former Mayor Bill White said Jim’s death leaves a large hole in Houston’s civic leadership. “He was at the epicenter of what some call ‘old Houston,’ and he embraced those relative newcomers, including me, based not on pedigree but willingness to serve,” White said.
“Thoroughly Texan, he never affected the manner of an urban cowboy,” White said. “In an age of indulgence, he was always measured. All civic leaders trusted his judgment and confidence.”
Our sympathies go to Jim’s wife, Jenny; and his seven children, Margaret, Jim ’11, Buck, John ’14, Harry, Sam, and Lucy Elkins.