Henry Bloch

Special to Veterans Advantage

After running a successful bookkeeping business, Henry and his brother, Richard, formed H&R Block, Inc. in 1955 to offer tax preparation to the general public.

With another infamous U.S. tax deadline come and gone, we honor one who has made life easier for all of us. World War II Air Force Navigator Henry Bloch not only patrolled the skies above Europe and Germany during World War II, but he revolutionized the way Americans submit billions of dollars in U.S. tax returns. The former chairman of H&R Block and brother Richard, helped pilot H&R Block from a small bookkeeping operation in Kansas City, Mo., into a $1.5 billion financial services company, one of the world’s most recognizable franchises, and the second-largest publisher of tax preparations software.

In September 2000, Bloch retired as Chairman of the Board, a position he has held since the company’s formation, and became Honorary Chairman.

During Henry’s junior year at the University of Michigan, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and he enlisted in the Army Air Corps. Serving in the Eighth Air Force as a navigator on B-17 bombers, he flew 31 combat missions over Germany, three of them over Berlin. He was awarded the Air Medal and three Oak Leaf Clusters.

His Army Air service eventually sent him to Harvard Business School to study for a military career. But while there, a chance visit to the library played a pivotal role in the birth of the brothers’ business.

"I always wanted to do something different, something more than just a job, something to contribute to society," Henry recalled in a recent interview. "And my brothers and I were always thinking up different businesses we could start, but none of them felt right. Then one day I saw a little pamphlet in the Harvard library that gave me the idea we were looking for."

The "little pamphlet" was a copy of a speech by Harvard Professor Sumner Schlicter, a noted authority on economics and labor relations, delivered to a group of insurance men. In it, he said there were three kinds of business: big business, small business, and labor. "Big business and labor were both very powerful, but small business really had no one to turn to," he said, "and small business was really the backbone of this country. The future", he declared, "would be in helping small businesses."

Henry excitedly pitched his brothers (Richard and another cofounder, Leon) about his vision of providing accounting, temporary workers, collection, management services, and more for small business. The full list included well over a hundred services - even income tax preparation.

Richard Bloch, at left, with Henry Bloch, in 1982

Great timing met their hard work. They boldly took out their first ad, which was published shortly after many people had received their W-2 forms in 1955, and uncovered an overwhelming need for tax services. In Kansas City, the Internal Revenue Service had just discontinued its practice of preparing tax returns at no charge to taxpayers.

Success prompted Richard to suggest expanding the business to New York City, the next city the IRS had scheduled to discontinue its tax preparation services. H&R Block targeted locations as close as possible to IRS offices and opened seven offices in 1956. In its second year, the company more than tripled revenues to more than $65,000.

The company soon developed into becoming H&R Block, and Henry was the "H" in the company name. Brother Richard, a fellow Vet and Wharton graduate, left the company in 1982 when he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. When he was miraculously cured, Richard dedicated his life to working for cancer-related organizations.

Over the past 45 years, Henry has been honored as an entrepreneur and philanthropist and for his exceptional service to the Kansas City business and cultural communities. Among his honors are the Distinguished Citizen Award from the Boy Scouts of America (1997); Kindest Kansas Citian from the Stop Violence Coalition (1996); Entrepreneur of the Year from Ernst & Young/ Inc. Magazine / Merrill Lynch (1993); Kansas Citian of the Year from Native Sons of Kansas City (1991); Philanthropist of the Year from the Greater Kansas City Council on Corporate Philanthropy (1989); Honorary Member from Golden Key National Honor Society, the University of Missouri-Kansas City (1989); and Bronze Award, Chief Executive of the Year, Service Industry from Financial World (1985 and 1976).

Henry lives in the Kansas City area with his wife Marion. They have four children and 12 grandchildren, and are avid art collectors.