Henri Alfred "Hal ten Brink

Henri Alfred ten Brink (Hal) was the most loved man by all his immense posse of friends and admirers who surrounded him every day at organized and orchestrated lunch events throughout Austin and weekend gatherings at the Guadalupe River house. He was generous and unselfish to all who knew him. He was the beloved husband of 47 years to Dr. Barbara Lee Rieck ten Brink and advised her with his wisdom and kind counsel enjoying and encouraging her many projects. He was devoted to his son, Samuel Lane ten Brink and daughter-in-law, Samantha Jane ten Brink, and granddaughters Marion (4) and Madeline (1). With Sam, Hal shared every leisure moment serving as coach or assistant coach in every youth sport. Hal instilled in Sam a passion for automobiles especially the 1973 white Buick Centurion convertible which Sam drove as a one-year old sitting on his daddy’s lap; the same car that Hal drove to carry Sam and Samantha away at their wedding.

Hal was a respected lawyer and public servant of 35 years to the State of Texas beginning in San Antonio at the Texas Attorney General’s Office as an Assistant Attorney General and Regional Chief; then as an Assistant Attorney General in Austin where he investigated and prosecuted consumer litigation throughout Texas. He moved to the Texas Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division and served as Assistant Director and Hearing Examiner in cases involving dealer sales points and disputes between dealers and manufacturers. Hal was the primary author of the Motor Vehicle Board’s Advertising Rules and Texas’ Lemon Law. Additional State work included the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation where he prosecuted 24 different licensing statutes in administrative hearings and was the original author of the Criminal Convictions Guidelines adopted by the Commission, Texas Residential Construction Commission, and the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners.

Hal opened a private practice in 1994 through 2002. He returned to the State and retired in 2013.

Hal was a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation.

His many philanthropic pursuits included serving on the boards of the Public Employees Credit Union for 30 years and Bryker Woods Neighborhood Association, serving as an election official, and providing pro-bono counsel to veterans through the Austin Bar Association.

Hal was born December 23, 1950 in Houston, Texas to Dr. Karl Cornelius ten Brink and Doris Moellenberndt ten Brink. The family transferred to New York during Hal’s high school years where he honed his talent for snow skiing. He returned every summer to be with his Texas friends and grandmothers and to attend Camp Longhorn where he learned to love sailing. He attended the University of Texas at Austin and St. Mary’s Law School in San Antonio. Hal is also survived by his sister, Charlotte ten Brink, brother-in-law, Rolf Laub, and niece, Emma Laub. We are eternally grateful to his long-term and vigilant care-provider Myriam Ruiz Santana.

A Celebration of Hal’s life will be at 12:00 P.M., Saturday December 2, 2023, at St. Francis by The Lake Episcopal Church, 121 Spring Mountain Dr, Canyon Lake, TX 78133.

Friends and family may share condolences and sign the online register book at www.harper-funeralhome.com.