[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 69 (Monday, April 29, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E501]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF MR. HENRY BLOCH

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                          HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 29, 2019

  Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Mr. 
Henry Bloch, the philanthropist, businessman, and beloved man who has 
helped shape Kansas City into the city that it has become. In life, Mr. 
Bloch carried a visionary spirit that transformed and encouraged the 
lives of everyone he met, including myself. Mr. Bloch's life and work 
are cherished and celebrated both in our Fifth Congressional District 
of Missouri and throughout the country.
  Mr. Bloch was born ninety-six years ago, in 1922, to an ambitious and 
hardworking mother and father in Kansas City, Missouri. From a young 
age, his family instilled within him a passion not only to excel 
individually, but for the good of all. Creating his own business model 
years later, Mr. Bloch always stayed true to this idea, doing his part 
to encourage startup businesses and individuals around the country to 
flourish. Growing up in a Jewish family that experienced firsthand the 
negative effects of discrimination, Mr. Bloch cultivated a spirit of 
kinship with others who had faced similar struggles. His dedication to 
Kansas City was evident in his own words when he thanked the city for 
all it had meant to him and his family. This week, the city joins 
together to celebrate their memories of Mr. Bloch and the resounding 
impact he made upon their lives. Testimonies of the ways in which Mr. 
Bloch impacted and touched the lives of so many have poured forth in 
recent days as Kansas Citians speak of how blessed they were to have 
met and known this remarkable man.
  Mr. Henry Bloch possessed an incredible spirit of determination and 
conviction. As a young man in the Army Air Corp during World War II, 
Mr. Bloch flew many missions on behalf of his country. After returning 
from the war, he opened a small business with his older brother, often 
working without pay so they could have enough money to pay the 
business's rent. Today, Mr. Bloch's business encompasses 12,000 offices 
around the country and employs around 70,000 employees nationwide. Mr. 
Bloch would often speak of luck and the fortunate opportunities he and 
his brother were given, forgetting to account for the long hours and 
sleepless nights that he put in without complaint during the early days 
of their business. Once H&R Block grew larger and more influential, 
this enabled Mr. Bloch to begin the true passion of his life--
philanthropy.
  A quiet and soft-spoken man, Mr. Bloch nonetheless commanded each 
room he walked into. The spirit of generosity that Mr. Bloch 
personified can be seen through his incredible legacies across the city 
and in the lives of so many who bear testament to it. Today, the Henry 
W. Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri-Kansas City 
and the beautiful Bloch buildings of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art 
both stand as some of the notable contributions Mr. Bloch made to 
Kansas City. Through these institutions, among other gifts, Mr. Bloch's 
mark on Kansas City will continue to positively impact lives for years 
to come. The Bloch family fittingly continues the spirit of his 
generosity as they ask that all condolence contributions go to the 
institutions and programs that meant so much to him and to our 
community.
  Madam Speaker, please join me, Missouri's Fifth Congressional 
District, and citizens across the nation in honoring Mr. Henry Bloch's 
life and his commitment to the betterment of his city. It is with love 
and respect that I share my deepest condolences and sincere gratitude 
for all that Mr. Bloch meant to me and the district that I serve. May 
he rest in heavenly peace.

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