Emeritus Trustee Benjamin Johnson Fortson Jr. ’57 was a force in the business world, excelling as an oilman and entrepreneur over a four-decade-long career. He was also a vital contributor to the formation and subsequent expansion of Fort Worth’s world-renowned Kimbell Art Museum.

Born June 9, 1932, in Fort Worth, Fortson lived by a motto passed down by his great-grandfather, W.C. Stripling: “Integrity is the most important thing of all.”

Fortson played basketball at Paschal High School under coaching legend Charlie Turner before beginning his undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He went on to join the U.S. Army in 1953. Following his discharge, Fortson resumed his education at TCU, where he earned a business degree.

He started his career in Oklahoma City as a landman for Champlin Oil, and by the early 1960s, Fortson had founded his own business, Fortson Oil Co.

“Ben had an incredible business mind,” his wife of 67 years, Kay Carter Fortson, is quoted as saying in Tim Madigan’s 2019 book, Of the First Class: A History of the Kimbell Art Museum.

“It was like a puzzle, how everything fit together,” she said, “and it was the kind of thing that he loved to figure out.”

Kay Fortson, a niece of Kay Kimbell, the Texas business magnate, art collector and co-founder of the Kimbell Art Foundation, eventually inherited the family empire.

Fortson orchestrated the construction of the Kimbell’s Renzo Piano Pavilion alongside architect Renzo Piano. The building opened in 2013. Photo by Corey Smith

“Together,” Madigan writes, “Kay and Ben quickly adopted a simple philosophy for their museum: only the best.”

Ben Fortson was the executive vice president and chief investment officer for the Kimbell Art Foundation for more than a half-century.

“We will forever remember Ben as a kind and wise leader whose impact on the Kimbell — especially through the building of the Piano Pavilion and his oversight of the Kimbell’s investments and finances for half a century — is incalculable,” said Eric Lee, director of the Kimbell Art Museum. “He was a true gentleman, and his devotion to the Kimbell, always accompanied by grace and a sense of humor, was profound. He leaves a powerful and enduring legacy.”

Fortson, too, made an indelible impact on his alma mater, serving on TCU’s Board of Trustees between 1986 and 1994. He then became an Emeritus Trustee for the university, filling that role through his final years.

“Texas Christian University has lost a valued member of our community,” TCU Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr., said in a statement. “Ben was a leader, visionary, devoted friend and family man who touched the lives of many with his kindness and generosity. As we reflect on his contributions to TCU as an esteemed alumnus and Emeritus Trustee, we know that his legacy will continue.”