Frederic Allen Bittner

Frederic Allen Bittner was born July 9, 1941, to Reinhold Fritz Bittner and Alice Mahlow Bittner on their family farm located east of Thrall, Texas, on Bittner Hill. He entered rest May 8, 2025. He was baptized and confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church in Thrall. He attended Thrall Public Schools and graduated from Thrall High School in 1959 as valedictorian of his class.

Fred helped his father work the family farm as he grew up, and that very difficult lifestyle motivated him to leave the farm and go to college.

Fred attended The University of Texas, and while there, worked at numerous jobs for as many hours as he could to support himself and to pay his college expenses. He completed his studies at UT in 1964 after earning a Bachelor of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Laws and a Doctor of Jurisprudence, all with honors. While attending UT, Fred also earned a number of additional honors. In the School of Business Administration, he was elected a member of Beta Gamma Sigma and a member of Phi Eta Sigma Fraternity. And in the School of Law, Fred was elected as a member of the Chancellors, the Editorial Board of the Texas Law Review, Phi Kappa Phi, and Phi Delta Phi. Several of his writings were published in the Texas Law Review as well.

Upon completion of law school, Fred enlisted in the United States Air Force on April 1, 1965. He was sent immediately to Officer Training School and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on July 1, 1965. Fred served more than eight years on active duty and in the Air Force Reserve at Lackland Air Force Base and Kelly Air Force Base, both in San Antonio, at Ellington Field near Houston and at several temporary duty stations. He served in various units as an Administrative Officer, an Accounting and Finance Officer and a POL Officer in charge of refueling aircraft. Fred's tour of duty was extended until the Viet Nam War ended, and he was honorably discharged on June 7, 1973.

After completing his active duty with the Air Force, Fred moved to Houston to begin his legal career. He practiced law there with the law firm of Baker, Botts, Shepherd & Coates, later renamed Baker & Botts, for twenty-one years representing public utilities and other energy-related businesses, as well as communication, cable television and real estate clients. Fred also provided pro bono legal representation to various indigent criminal defendants. He was a member of the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association and the Harris County Bar Association. Fred was licensed to practice before the Supreme Court of Texas and all other courts of the State of Texas, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In 2016, the State Bar of Texas honored Fred for then having been a licensed attorney in the State of Texas for fifty years. He remained a licensed attorney until his death. He had worked long and hard to acquire his license to practice law, and his death was the only time that he would even consider giving up his license.

After retirement from his law practice in 1985, Fred engaged in various financial and real estate investment activities. At the same time, he traveled extensively and pursued various volunteer and charitable opportunities. He enjoyed spending time with family and friends-particularly when playing dominoes became part of the visit. Fred moved back to Austin in 1998, and then to Taylor in 2013. He is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church at West Taylor which had been a part of the Bittner family for many years.

Visitation will be from 5 – 7 P.M. on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at Providence Funeral Home in Taylor, Texas. Funeral Services will be at Immanuel Lutheran Church in West Taylor at 10:30 A.M. on Friday, May 16, 2025. 411 CR 401, Taylor Texas 76574.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Immanuel Lutheran Church at P.O Box 1355, Taylor TX 76574.