(From the San Antonio Express News. JBT) Obituary: Builder Rainey, 88, was pioneer of tilt-wall construction in S.A. Web Posted: 11/10/2006 08:26 PM CST His World War II service complete, William Robert Rainey could have returned home to South Carolina and a planned life. But he and mom were more adventurous, and they stayed in San Antonio, said Anna Rainey Peavy, one of his daughters. Retired since 1984, Rainey, a builder and investor, died at home Wednesday of complications from strokes he suffered since February. He was 88. Rainey’s venture into construction started one curb at a time, sidewalks, then foundations, steel buildings and finally major warehouses and plants, his family said. He was one of the first in San Antonio to embrace tilt-up construction for commercial projects. Also called tilt-wall construction, it’s a technique in which concrete slabs called panels are built horizontally, then lifted or tilted into place. In use for decades, it’s a boon for contractors because it takes less time to erect a building and is less costly. Rainey’s work won plaudits from companies for which he built buildings. In 1976, Kurt Leutwyler, then president of the Baker Oil Tools Group, now just Baker Oil Tools, praised the contractor’s efficiency in building a new manufacturing plant in San Antonio for Bakerline, a subsidiary. Leutwyler said his company had received some surprises in San Antonio. The first was that we got this fine building within the amount budgeted, Leutwyler said at the building’s dedication. Our builder, Bill Rainey, stuck right to the budget. The building also was finished 15 days ahead of the scheduled completion date. Other buildings built by Rainey were for Thad Ziegler Glass, Pioneer Flour Mills, Budweiser, the Lockheed Martin plant on the South Side and Southern Moving and Storage. A 1939 graduate of the Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, Rainey went into the Army that same year as a second lieutenant. In World War II, he was a combat veteran of five battles and campaigns in Europe. He was awarded the Bronze Star. The Iron Spur, the family ranch in Sisterdale, was his favorite place, said another daughter, Stephanie Rainey Cage of Falfurrias. Survived by: His wife of 64 years, Paula ‘Didi’ Rainey; three daughters, Anna Rainey Peavy of San Antonio, Stephanie Rainey Cage of Falfurrias and Paula Rainey Johnson, also of San Antonio; seven grandchildren, Paula Rainey Johnson of Houston, William Rainey Cage of Fort Worth, Clyde John Bennett Johnson IV, Mary Stephanie Peavy, Presnall Grady Cage, Margaret Anna Peavy and Valerie Cage Ziegler, all of San Antonio; and three great-grandchildren, Richard Presnall Cage, Campbell Starr Cage and Clyde John Bennett Johnson V, all of San Antonio. Services: Today at 11 a.m. at the Porter Loring chapel at 1101 McCullough Ave., with private burial in Sisterdale. Memorials: Donations can be sent to the Citadel Development Fund, 171 Moultrie St., Charleston, S.C., 29409, or to a charity of choice. Burnam Taylor 1961 Band/Pipes Louisville, Ky
Posted in:
Posted on:
Link to original obituary: