William Jefferson Blythe Jr. lost control of his 1942 Buick on U.S. Route 60 outside of Sikeston, Missouri, after one of his car's tires blew out. He survived the accident after being thrown from the car, but drowned in a drainage ditch as he tried to pull his way out of the three feet (1 meter) of water in the ditch. Three months later, Blythe's widow, Virginia, gave birth to their son, whom she named William Jefferson Blythe III in honor of his father and grandfather. In 1950, Blythe's widow married Roger Clinton Sr.; 12 years later, Blythe's posthumous son legally adopted his stepfather's
Bill Blythe of Economics in London, England. Blythe served for eight years in the United States Army, both active and reserve duty. He retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel from the Texas State Guard. A former member of the Junior Chamber, he received that organization's Charles A. Perlitz, Jr. Memorial Award for "Leadership Training through Community Development." In 1962, Blythe joined his father, who retired that year from the Army, in the establishment in Austin of the former William Blythe Advertising and Public Relations Company. With more than four decades in the real estate business, Blythe in 2011 was an associate