“He was just a solid good citizen of the community,” said Roy Appleton Jr., describing his lifelong friend who died Friday morning at the age of 92, surrounded by his family at Lake Forest Good Samaritan Village in Denton. “He was as honest as the day is long.”

Utter was born Dec. 13, 1916, in Miami, Okla., to John Rufus Utter and Golda Beatrice Adams.

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Bill Utter Sr., owner of Bill Utter Ford on Interstate 35E in Denton, died Friday morning after injuries sustained in an accident.

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The family moved to Houston where Utter returned to school, graduating in the top 5 percent of his 1935 high school class and earning a scholarship to a Houston business college.

In 1937, he entered the work force after being hired at a Houston oil refinery company. He worked there 10 years, and during that time he met Virginia Bishop, whom he married on Aug. 31, 1940.

The company Utter worked for did business with a family who owned a local Ford dealership, his daughter Barbara Utter-Tomes said. In 1947, the family hired him to work for the company. He trained in all areas of how to run a dealership. When the family decided to open an Amarillo dealership in 1950, Utter was made the general manager.

In May 1956, with only $50,000, Utter and his wife opened their first Ford dealership in downtown Denton at 419 S. Elm St.

He struggled at times to keep his business afloat, family members said, but he worked hard and 11 years later moved his dealership to 1720 W. University Drive, where he conducted business for 10 years. From 1977 to 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.

Family members said his journey of coming from practically nothing to owning a thriving car dealership was that of an American dream come true.

Appleton met Utter in 1956, when Utter opened his dealership. Appleton, former general manager of the Denton Record-Chronicle and president of Denton Publishing Co., said he went to sell Utter an advertisement publicizing the grand opening of the dealership, and he found Utter courteous and friendly.

From there, he said, a friendship sparked. During the next 50 years, the pair and their families would spend holidays and other momentous occasions together. The two men, whose birthdays are only one day apart, would oftentimes celebrate their birthdays together.

Appleton said he will remember his friend for his commitment to the Denton community. Anything asked of him from the community, Appleton said, Utter did it and he gave his all to it.

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Mayor Elinor Hughes chats with Bill Utter in May 1977 during the grand opening of Bill Utter Ford’s showroom on University Dr.

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Utter served as the Denton Chamber of Commerce president and fundraising director for the United Way of Denton County.

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

“He was a very astute businessman,” 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.”

Throughout his career he served on several local, state and national car dealership boards. He was instrumental in bringing the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Denton State School to the area, and in the widening of Loop 288 from U.S. Highway 380 to I-35E.

“He took pride in his community and gave back to his community. He wanted it to be the best it could be,” Utter-Tomes said. “His peers in the community respected him for what he stood for and what he accomplished.”

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

Never asking for a dime, Utter would always provide chamber members with vehicles from his dealership when they needed to show industrial prospects around the city, Carpenter said. Utter’s vehicles also were used when traveling to Austin for legislative issues and for touring homes around the city during Christmas decorating contests, he said.

Denton Mayor Mark Burroughs called Utter one of the “fathers of Denton.” The businessman made a lasting impression on the future mayor more than a decade ago, when Burroughs was a student in the chamber’s Leadership Denton program and Utter spoke to his class.

“He did an amazing job of identifying what it takes to make a real difference because he lived it himself: the dedication to community and to lead by example,” Burroughs said. “He tried to do that his whole life, and I think our community is much better off for it.”

Over the span of his career, Utter created a legacy for his family by helping his children to open dealerships of their own in Sherman, McKinney and Denison.

Family members said Utter’s death was brought on by a Dec. 29 car accident in which he suffered head trauma and a broken clavicle. After the accident, Utter was transported to Denton Regional Medical Center and later taken by CareFlite to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, where he remained in intensive care for nine days, Bill Utter Jr. said.

On Thursday, Bill Utter Sr. was transported to hospice care at the Good Samaritan facility. Throughout the nine days he was in Dallas, the family held a vigil at the hospital, his son said. In the final days, family members spent time with Bill Utter Sr., saying their final goodbyes.

The mood at Bill Utter Sr.’s dealership Friday was somber, said Carl Anderson, general sales manager. While employees were sad, many shared stories of Bill Utter Sr., Anderson said, and they celebrated “the fact that he lived 92 years.”

While employees will miss seeing him come into the dealership every day, his memory and his legacy “won’t be forgotten,” Anderson said.

Bill Utter Sr. is survived by his wife of 68 years, Virginia; three children, Bill Utter Jr. of Argyle, Bob Utter of Sherman and Barbara Utter-Tomes of McKinney; and four grandchildren. Visitation is scheduled from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at St. David’s Episcopal Church, 623 Ector St. A memorial service will be conducted at 2 p.m. Tuesday at First United Methodist Church, 201 S. Locust St. Bill DeBerry Funeral Directors is in charge of funeral arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, the Utter family requests that donations be made to the Bill Utter Scholarship Fund at the University of North Texas or the Spina Bifida Association of North Texas.

Staff writers Lowell Brown and Dawn Cobb contributed to this report.

BRITNEY TABOR can be reached at 940-566-6876.