Local car dealership owner and former Denton Chamber of Commerce president Bill Utter Sr., died Friday morning.

He was 92.

Bill Utter Sr.

His family was with him when he died around 7 a.m. at the Lake Forest Good Samaritan Village in southern Denton.

In 1956, Utter and his wife Virginia, opened their first Ford dealership in downtown Denton on 419 S. Elm Street. About 11 years later he moved to a location at 1720 W. University Drive where he conducted business for 10 years. From 1977-1998, Utter owned a dealership at 2230 W. University Drive. He moved his family business to its current location at 4901 S. Interstate 35E in 1998.

In addition to selling vehicles, he served as the city’s Chamber of Commerce president and fundraiser director for the United Way of Denton County.

He received the small-business person of the year award in 1992 from the Denton Chamber of Commerce; In the same year Time magazine named him one of 65 finalists for its Quality Dealer Award. In 1993, Ford Motor Company honored him with the Distinguished Achievement Award for Quality, an honor given to the nation’s outstanding Ford dealerships.

“He was a very astute business man,” said his son, Bill Utter Jr. “And there were times that we thought he was too frugal but he was conservative. In doing that, he brought things to where they are today.”

In 1979, the Denton Chamber of Commerce presented Utter with its most prestigious honor, the Otis L. Fowler Award. The award, named after the city’s chamber manager who served from 1929-1959, is awarded to recipients for their accomplishments in a professional field which has contributed to the betterment of the Denton community.

Family members said that his death was brought on by a Dec. 29 car accident in which he suffered head trauma and broken clavicle.

At the time of the accident, Utter was transported to Denton Regional Medical Center and later Careflighted to Dallas’ Parkland Memorial Hospital where he remained in the intensive care unit for nine days, his son said. On Thursday, Utter was transported to hospice care at the Good Samaritan facility. 

Throughout the nine days he was in Dallas, the family held vigil at the hospital. Bill Utter Jr., said doctors earlier this week told the family that they were not certain that he would recover from his injuries and on Wednesday they braced themselves knowing that once he was brought back to Denton the family was “going to have to let him go.”

Bill Utter Jr. said Wednesday the family spent time at the hospital saying their goodbyes and spending their last moments with his father.

Utter is survived by his wife Virginia of 68 years; three children, Bill Utter Jr., of Argyle, Bob Utter of Sherman and Barbara Utter-Tomes of McKinney and their spouses, and four grandchildren.

Bill DeBerry Funeral Directors are in charge of funeral arrangements.

BRITNEY TABOR can be reached at 940-566-6876. Her e-mail address is btabor@dentonrc.com.