William Temple Webber III Passes Away at 70
William Temple Webber, III — husband, son, father, brother, photographer, and community servant — passed away Thursday, October 1, 2026, culminating a twelve-year, well-fought battle with cancer. He was 70 years old.
Born in Lufkin, Texas on June 4, 1956 to Barbara (née Chase) and W. Temple Webber, Jr, the family moved to Houston after an accidental fire left the two-year-old Temple with severe burns on the majority of his body. He spent nine months recovering at Texas Children's Hospital. Under the care of plastic surgeon, the late Dr. Dan Hardy, dozens of operations in childhood enabled Temple to live a full and exceptional life.
Temple attended The Kinkaid School and graduated from The Choate School (now Choate Rosemary Hall) in 1974. He earned a BA in Journalism from Washington & Lee University in 1978 and a BS in Biochemistry from the University of Houston in 1981. Temple began his portrait photography career in the early 1980s, and by the time he retired in 2015, he had photographed over 1,200 weddings from Houston to across Texas, even so far as Italy and Austria. Throughout his career and in retirement, Temple remained a patron of fine photography and was a longtime member of the photography subcommittee at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Apart from his photography career, Temple was passionate about serving his community, committing countless hours to nonprofit boardwork and volunteering. As a near-lifelong member at the Church of St. John the Divine, Temple served on the Associate Vestry and was the commissioner of the United Church Athletic League. He proudly sat on the boards of Glenwood Cemetery, Neuhaus Education Center, The Parish School, Bible Study Media, and St. Stephens's Episcopal School in Austin, to name only a few. He was particularly honored to take part in his family's T.L.L. Temple Foundation, serving on the board for 25 years, four of those as Board Chair. In Houston, his work with DePelchin Children's Center and subsequent Chairmanship led to the integration of Community Based Care with the Texas Department of Family Protective Services for the 13-county surrounding region. Temple believed participating in his community was God's calling, a vocation he kept into his final days.
When he wasn't busy with photography or philanthropy, Temple enjoyed watching sports (with special fondness for ice hockey, baseball, and horse racing), socializing with friends, dining out, and spending time at home with his family and beloved dog, Harper — all over a glass of fine wine. He enjoyed traveling with his wife, Mary, on their summer road-trips across the South, weekend getaways to New Orleans, and voyages with her and friends across North America and Europe. A member of River Oaks Country Club, the Bayou Club, and Allegro, Temple loved to converse with anyone and everyone. Those who knew him will remember Temple as an incredibly friendly and thoughtful neighbor who had a magnetic ability to make anyone around him feel special. Bound by his Christian faith, Temple lived and died by the two Great Commandments: to love God with all thy heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love thy neighbor as thyself.