William “Bill” Demetree of Orlando, 83, a past president of the Northeast Florida Builders Association, suffered a stroke on December 30 and died last month.
NEFBA’s president in 1950 and FHBA president in 1956, Demetree was an Orlando-area legend both for his construction activities and his philanthropic efforts. In 1983, he built the downtown Orlando tower that now houses Wachovia Bank and three years later, he donated dozens of acres and constructed Girls and Boys Town, a group home for orphaned children in Oviedo.
Bill Demetree and his cousin, Jack A. Demetree, founded Demetree Builders, Inc. in Jacksonville in 1946 and moved the family business to Orlando in the 1960s. They sold 12,400 acres of land to Walt Disney that became part of the site of the Magic Kingdom.
In their careers, Bill and Jack A. Demetree built more than 13,000 hotel rooms, thousands of homes, and dozens of commercial projects.
Bill’s brother, Jack C. Demetree, is a prominent developer in Jacksonville, a past president of FHBA, and a member of the FHBA and NAHB Housing Halls of Fame. Bill and Jack A. Demetree are members of the Florida Housing Hall of Fame.
“Bill Demetree was a consummate gentlemen,” says Paul Mashburn, another FHBA Past President and Florida Housing Hall of Fame member from Jacksonville. “Bill Demetree was someone I always looked up to as a model of professionalism and community service. He always went out of his way to encourage me and I was greatly influenced by his leadership. Bill’s wife (Sara) called the HBA (of Metro Orlando) to ask for prayers after Bill’s stroke. Bill was a strong man of faith and I know he and Sara both considered the HBA to be their family.”
A highly decorated World War II pilot, Demetree was a pioneer in Florida’s home building industry, creating the concept of Parades of Homes and contributing financially to the creation of the School of Building Construction at the University of Florida.