NAHB Mourns Passing of Former Chairman Granger MacDonald

The NAHB Federation mourns Texas builder and 2017 NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald, who passed away Wednesday.

A longtime industry leader, Granger was a Kerrville, Texas-based builder and developer with more than 40 years of experience in the home building industry. He served as chairman and CEO of the MacDonald Companies, a diverse development, construction, and property management enterprise with nearly 50 neighborhoods completed and managed throughout Texas.

“We deeply mourn the passing of our great friend, Granger MacDonald. Granger was an icon in the housing industry and led our industry at the local, state and national levels,” said NAHB CEO Jerry Howard. “During his year as chairman in 2017, he was at the forefront in the fight to address the growing housing affordability crisis in America and to enact the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which included several important tax provisions for our industry.”

Across the Federation, Granger was admired for his tireless efforts advocating on behalf of the housing industry and his spirit of generosity.

“As a leader you will find none in our Federation’s history more dedicated to the cause of decent, safe and affordable housing,” Howard added. “Granger devoted his life to helping people meet the basic need for shelter. There could be no more worthy cause. I lost a brother this week.”

Granger passed on his love of home building to his son Justin. Like his father, Justin has been active in the NAHB leadership at the local, state and national levels. Both served as presidents of the Texas Association of Builders (TAB).

“A lot of us get to share our passion for home building with our children. This is good for our families, and good for the industry,” Granger said as he installed Justin as the TAB president in 2017. “We can help groom the next generation of residential construction leaders.” The MacDonald family passion for housing began with Granger’s mother, and Justin’s grandmother, Jean MacDonald. Jean started the business in the post-war era as demand for housing increased in Texas.

She was also very active within the Federation and posthumously received NAHB’s Exemplary Service to Home Building Award in 2017.

Granger and his wife Kathy created the NAHB Building an Appetite cookbook series, inspired by their son Doug Wistner, a passionate cook who passed away in January 2015. All sale proceeds support the National Housing Endowment/NAHB Doug Wistner Scholarship Fund.

Granger was inducted into the Texas Housing Hall of Honor in 2019. View a tribute video created by TAB to honor his significant and lasting contributions to the housing industry.