Houston businessman and chairman of Enterprise Products Partners LP, Dan L. Duncan, passed away unexpectedly at his home the night of March 28, 2010 at the age of 77. While I never had the opportunity to meet Mr. Duncan, I certainly knew of him. In the years writing this column, I knew he was an ideal candidate as his giving seemed endless. While I will not have the opportunity to speak with Mr. Duncan, it seems only fitting to profile him now.
Duncan was not only Houston's wealthiest citizen–Forbes Magazine recently named him No. 74 on its worldwide list of billionaires with a net worth of $9 billion–but perhaps the most generous the "Energy Capital of the World" has ever known.
Born in rural Shelby County, Texas in 1933, Duncan quickly experienced the grief that comes along with family illness. Around the time Duncan was three years old, his mother developed tuberculosis and spent months at a time in the hospital. When Duncan was seven, blood poisoning–the result of a cut from rusty metal–took the life of his brother. Only three short months later, his mother passed away. Roughly a year after he graduated from high school and joined his father in the oil and gas fields and life as a pipeliner and roughneck, Duncan's father succumbed to leukemia.
While such tragic events befell him at an early age, Duncan remained hopeful and determined. He continued his education with the help of the GI Bill after serving in the Korean War as a member of the US Army, studying business, finance, and accounting. After learning the midstream energy ropes at Wanda Petroleum, Duncan set out to fulfill his destiny. He helped found Enterprise Products Co. in 1968, took Enterprise Products Partners public in July 1998, and the rest is a story well-known in energy business history.
Duncan amassed his fortune, but those that knew him–and there were so many–attest that he remained the humble, loyal, compassionate, hardworking, and giving man that earned him the respect of so many that knew him as a "visionary business leader and philanthropist."
Many knew Duncan as an avid hunter who won numerous awards and hunted big game on six continents. He shared the love of the outdoors with others. To honor the brave service men and women severely injured in battle, Duncan hosted hunts at his Smithville ranch for members of the Wounded Warrior Project. Every year he welcomed underprivileged youth and handicapped children, along with their families, as guests for a weekend event at the ranch, aiming to instill a spirit of conservation within the younger generations.
His most widely recognized philanthropic efforts were those in support of medical research and comprehensive patient care. He donated millions upon millions of dollars to Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston, and MD Anderson Cancer Center. Baylor College of Medicine received perhaps his most generous donation, a gift of $100 million in 2006. The gift followed one of $35 million just one year prior.
Having survived his own bout with prostate cancer, Duncan was committed to ensuring that Houston remains at the forefront of cancer research, treatment, and prevention.
The facilities that bear his name are numerous.
The Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine provides care and hope to those facing cancer, the Dan Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment at MD Anderson Cancer Center focuses on preventing cancer and sustaining healthy lives, the Dan L. Duncan Neurodevelopmental Clinic provides testing, treatment, and interventions for children with various learning differences, and the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital was established to ensure children with autism, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and other neurological disorders reach their full potential.
It is through these lasting commitments, these facilities that provide hope and care for so many people day in and day out; through the companies that grew, prospered, and helped shape the face of the industry today; and through the legions of friends and family that he left behind, that he will be remembered.
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