16 March 2026

Mike Wagoner

It is with great sadness to pass on to Rider Classmates that we have lost one of the best. William Allensworth has passed away. For a long time William fought the good battle. His wife Kay notified me a few hours ago that William passed away yesterday morning. William served as a 2nd Lieutenant Marine in the Vietnam conflict and went on to obtain his law degree from Texas Tech. William had been retired for about 10 years having turned his law firm in Austin over to his son. I will post an update once I know about a service. Thank you - Mike Wagoner

Mike Wagoner

William Allensworth celebration of life, 25 April at the All Saints Episcopal Church in Austin.
In Loving Memory of William Allensworth - Obituaries & Ways to Support the Family https://share.google/TLfAITvZh72d9Vswc

William Allensworth Obituary

William Russell Allensworth of Austin, Texas, died peacefully at his home on Monday, March 16.
William was a prominent lawyer who led a successful and virtuous life. Born in 1947 at Walter Reed Hospital to Major Hubert L. Allensworth and Martha Doak Wilson, William was raised on Air Force bases in Washington D.C., Japan, and Germany. After his parents divorced, William, his mother, and four siblings moved from Germany-which William described as an classless and non-materialistic society-to Wichita Falls, Texas, landing in what George Orwell described as the "lower-upper-middle class."
After graduating from Austin College in 1968 with a B.A. in History, William joined the Marines and served as an artillery officer in Battery K, 4th Bn. 11th Marines, 1st Marine Division in the former Republic of Vietnam, for which he was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal (with a combat "V"). A proud Marine, William frequently remarked that his unit acquitted themselves well under difficult circumstances. After the war, he declined a regular commission, instead choosing to attend Texas Tech University School of Law, where he graduated with high honors in 1974.
William began his legal career in Dallas as the 11th attorney hired at Haynes & Boone, and proudly claimed Richard Haynes, Michael Boone, and George Bramblett among his many mentors. In 1979 he married Kay Allensworth, and in 1980 they welcomed son John to the world, followed soon after by son Will in 1983. In 1988, the firm asked for a volunteer to manage its then-small office in the state's capital. Although William and Kay had already established deep roots in Dallas, including William serving as a democratic precinct chairman and President of the Swiss Avenue Resident's Association, they both thought, correctly, that Austin would be a better place to build their lives as a young family. William was joined in Austin by his brother, Robert (Bob), and sister, Elizabeth, where they happily raised children together.
In 1995, William left Haynes and Boone amicably and founded his own firm, initially known as Roller and Allensworth, and later Allensworth and Porter. It has since grown to become a nationally prominent construction law firm thanks to William's leadership and guidance.
Throughout his career, William maintained an active trial and appellate practice, arguing dozens of cases at every level of Texas and federal courts-including a landmark case before the Supreme Court of the United States in 2013. His professional accomplishments include co-founding the Construction Law Section of the State Bar of Texas; founding the Travis County Bar Association (now Austin Bar Association) Construction Law Section; teaching 29 semesters of Construction Law and Litigation at the University of Texas School of Law; writing and editing the first edition of the American Bar Association's Construction Law textbook; receiving from the Construction Law Section its highest honor, the Pioneer Award, for lifetime achievement and significant contributions to Texas construction law; and being named a Fellow of the prestigious American College of Construction Lawyers.
After his retirement from the law in 2016, William was appointed to the Texas Facilities Commission, first as a commissioner in 2018, and then chairman in 2019. In those roles, William helped deliver the first phase of the Texas State Capitol complex expansion project, on-time, and on-budget, despite unprecedented challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
William's public service extended beyond his profession. He was a volunteer firefighter for the Westlake Fire Department, later serving as Fire Commissioner. He was a member of All Saints Episcopal Church for more than 30 years. William served on the St. Andrew's Episcopal School Board and later was elected Chairman.
William and Kay loved to travel, particularly on extended summers in Powell River, British Columbia. They first visited in 1983 and later dragged their often-reluctant children along each summer. During his last trip, William described their "PRBC" home, looking over the Pacific Ocean, as "heaven on earth." He leaves behind many cherished friends there.
William was a brilliant thinker and socializer. A notorious contrarian, he always managed to simultaneously entertain and annoy his many close friends and family. He had an incredible sense of humor that tended on the dark side, as William recognized few, if any, sacred cows. He was a voracious reader and student of (particularly military) history, with an impressive collection of dusty, antiquarian books. William had a remarkable knack for stopping mid-conversation, pulling a book off a nearby shelf, flipping to a passage relevant to the ongoing dialogue and reading it aloud. This was easy for him, as William could relate any topic of discussion to obscure 18th century French military sieges, the exploits, failures, or suffering of the German 6th Army, or 19th century Prussian military strategy (at least as described by Carl Von Clausewitz).
Later in his career, William joined and frequented the Headliner's Club, where he drank many "bottles of pop," as he was fond of calling them. For the last eight years, William and Kay were active members of the community at Cambridge Tower, with William serving on its HOA Board.
William will be remembered by his family, his colleagues, and friends for his quickness to laugh, his humility, fortitude, courage, and selflessness. William was swift to offer help and guidance, be it to neighbors, friends, colleagues, students, or total strangers he met on one of his frequent strolls up and down Congress Avenue.
He is survived by his wife Kay Allensworth, sons John Catlett Allensworth and William Woodward Allensworth (wife Anne), his two clever grandchildren, Caroline June Allensworth and Andrew Lawrence Allensworth, his brother Bob Allensworth (wife Cindy), and sister Elizabeth George (husband Jim), and many nieces, nephews, and grandnieces and grandnephews. He joins in death his parents and his two younger brothers John Allensworth (wife Sally) and Thomas Allensworth. A memorial service will be held at 2:00pm on April 25, 2026, at All Saints Episcopal Church in Austin. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you instead consider donating to All Saints Episcopal Church.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/statesman/name/william-allensworth-obituary?id=61114553