Tevis was born and grew up in Houston. As a child he spent many hours in the kitchen watching the family meals being prepared and he developed a life long interest in good food and cooking. He still makes many of those dishes from the memory of seeing them prepared and of how they tasted.
From this experience he came to believe that you can't really cook a dish well that you have not previously eaten and enjoyed.
Tevis graduated from the University of Texas in Plan II in 1960 and from the University of Texas Law School in 1963. He clerked for a federal circuit judge for one year then went to work in Houston for Vinson & Elkins. He became a partner at V&E and practiced corporate finance and merger and acquisition law for 30 years.
After retiring Tevis and his wife Marilee began spending more time in their home in Wimberley and they both became involved in Wimberley politics. He worked for the incorporation of Wimberley and has served on various boards and commissions including being chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission. More recently he has been very involved in the Blue Hole Park project serving on the committee to draft the park master plan and as a member of the Board of Directors of The Friends of Blue Hole.
Tevis cooks for the family and enjoys plain and simple home style food.