Richard Adolf Bloch (February 15, 1926 – July 21, 2004) was an American entrepreneur, and philanthropist best known for starting the

H&R Block H&R Block, Inc., or H&R Block, is an American tax preparation company operating in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The company was founded in 1955 by brothers Henry W. Bloch and Richard Bloch. As of 2018, H&R Block operates approximat ...

tax preparation and personal finance company with his older brother

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

in 1955. His personal experience with cancer led him to invest in helping others fight and overcome the disease.

Early life and education

Bloch was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

, the son of Hortense (Bienenstock) and Leon Bloch. In the 4th grade, Bloch found a hand press in his uncle's attic and began his first business as a printer. By the time he was 12, he had three automatic presses and was providing printing services to several

high schools. He sold his business to an

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

college to use as a print course teaching model. When he was 16, he entered the

Wharton School The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in P ...

(part of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

). In college Bloch was a member of

Zeta Beta Tau Zeta Beta Tau () is a Greek-letter social fraternity based in North America. It was founded on December 29, 1898. Originally a Zionist youth society, its purpose changed from Zionism in the fraternity's early years when in 1954 the fraternity beco ...

, the campus' Jewish fraternity. The youngest member of his class, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in economics in 1945. He helped pay his college expenses by purchasing used cars, repairing them and selling them for a profit.

Founding H. & R. Block

Bloch returned to Kansas City after graduating, married his wife, Annette, and began working in the

municipal bond A municipal bond, commonly known as a muni, is a Bond (finance), bond issued by state or local governments, or entities they create such as authorities and special districts. In the United States, interest income received by holders of municipal ...

business. Around the same time, his brothers Henry and Leon launched the United Business Co. bookkeeping business. His brothers asked him to come aboard as an accountant. Bloch left the business for about a year in 1953 to become a retail jewelry efficiency expert. While stranded on a San Francisco business trip, he realized his family in Kansas City was a top priority and returned. Soon after, Leon left the bookkeeping business to pursue a career as an attorney. In 1955, Henry and Richard Bloch renamed the business H&R Block, changing the spelling to avoid mispronunciation, and focused on tax preparation services. While Henry managed the company in Kansas City, Richard concentrated on nationwide expansion. By 1969, he shifted his efforts overseas while Henry took charge of the company's domestic business.

Cancer

Bloch was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 1978, and told he had three months to live. He refused to accept the prognosis, and sought treatment at the M.D. Anderson Center in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Texas. After two years of aggressive therapy, his cancer went into remission. By 1980, he was focusing his energies on funding cancer research, and in 1982 he sold his interest in H&R Block. Richard and Annette Bloch founded the Cancer Hotline in 1980 to educate newly diagnosed cancer patients, and their friends and families about available treatment resources. Later, they founded the R. A. Bloch Cancer Management Center and the R. A. Bloch Cancer Support Center at the

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and one of only two member universities with a medical school. As of 2020, the university ...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

appointed him to a six-year term with the National Cancer Advisory Board in 1982. He was a member of the President's Circle of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

, the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, E ...

, and the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

Office of Alternative Medicine. He also received the 1994

American Society of Clinical Oncology The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is a professional organization representing physicians of all oncology sub-specialties who care for people with cancer. Founded in 1964 by Fred Ansfield, Harry Bisel, Herman Freckman, Arnoldus G ...

's Public Service Award and the 1995 Layman's Award from the Society of Surgical Oncology. In the late 1980s, Bloch was diagnosed with

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

, which was also successfully treated.

Death

Bloch died of heart failure on July 21, 2004 at the age of 78. He was survived by his wife, Annette (née Modell),Palm Springs.com: "PalmSprings.com Spotlight: An Interview with Annette Bloch"
December 10th, 2012 daughters Linda Lyon, Barbara Stanny, and Nancy Linsely and ten grandchildren.

Bibliography

Co-written with his wife: * ''Cancer... There's Hope'' (1981) (1983 edition) * ''Fighting Cancer: A Step-by-Step Guide to Helping Yourself Fight Cancer'' (1985) * ''Guide for Cancer Supporters: Step-by-step Ways to Help a Relative or Friend Fight Cancer'' (1992)

References

External links

Bloch Cancer Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloch, Richard A. 1926 births 2004 deaths Businesspeople from Kansas City, Missouri Writers from Kansas City, Missouri American financial businesspeople American health and wellness writers Jewish American writers Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni H&R Block 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews