William Bill Braxton Batey

William Braxton Batey ended his seventeen-year battle with cancer on Tuesday, March 28, 2017. Bill, who was 72, passed away at Spohn Shoreline Hospital, in Corpus Christi, Texas, in the company of his beloved daughter Misha Lehman.

Bill was born in Peru, Indiana, where his mother, Anne Deeb Batey, was living with her family, while his father, Whit Braxton Batey, was an army staff sergeant in Europe in World War II. A graduate of W.B. Ray High School in Corpus, Bill arrived on the Austin campus of the University of Texas in 1963, beginning a lifelong love affair with UT, which awarded him a bachelor’s degree in business administration, as well as countless hours of sports pride and excitement.

Over his fifty years in business, Bill managed record stores in Lincoln, Nebraska, and in Austin; he worked for savings and loan organizations in Kingsville and Corpus; and he appraised real estate throughout the Coastal Bend area, first as an employee/manager at local firms and later as a partner in his own business, Apices Appraisal Group.

Though pleased by his spotless business reputation, Bill’s greatest joy was his offspring. He was extremely close with his daughter, Misha Anne Lehman, of San Antonio, with whom he spoke virtually every day. And he doted on his grandchildren, Austin Michael Lehman and Jazmyn Skye Jefferson, also of San Antonio, who adored their Papaw. Also surviving Bill are his brother, Robert Deeb Batey, of Humble, Texas, scores of first-, second-, and third-cousins in Texas and throughout the Midwest, and countless friends, who will always remember his kindness, his quick wit, and his easy smile. “Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

A celebration of life service will be held on April 22nd, 2017 at Cage-Mills Funeral Home, Corpus Christi, TX.