H&R Block Co-Founder Dies

Henry Bloch was 96
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 24, 2019 12:41 AM CDT
H&R Block Co-Founder Dies
This Dec. 15, 1996 photo shows Henry W. Bloch, a co-founder of tax preparation giant H&R Block Inc.   (Lauren Chapin/The Kansas City Star via AP, File)

Henry Bloch, who helped found tax preparation giant H&R Block, died Tuesday at age 96, the company announced. Bloch died of natural causes at St. Luke's Hospice in Kansas City. He founded H&R Block in 1955 in the city with his brother, Richard, to take advantage of the vacuum left as the Internal Revenue Service stopped providing its free income tax returns service, the AP reports. Richard Bloch died in 2004. Henry Bloch retired as H&R Block's chief executive officer in 1992 and as chairman of the board of directors in 2000. "Through his honesty and integrity, Henry embodied the best of American business, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy," said Jeff Jones, president and chief executive officer of H&R Block Inc., in a statement.

Bloch, who flew 32 combat missions over Germany as a navigator in World War II, was also a philanthropist. A foundation he started along with his wife, Marion, supported numerous charitable causes in Kansas City, including the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute at Saint Luke's Hospital, and the Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Marion Bloch died in 2013. "This is an enormous loss to the community and to the Nelson-Atkins," said Richard Green, chair of the museum's Board of Trustees in a written statement. "Henry Bloch had an unfailing vision and enthusiasm that was borne of genuine gratitude." Bloch is survived by four children, 12 grandchildren, and 19 great-grandchildren. (More obituary stories.)

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