Richard Bloch

Richard Adolf Bloch helped millions of taxpayers weather the grueling process of filing annual income tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service.
He and his brother Henry launched the tax preparation service, H&R Block Inc., in 1955 to aid Americans in compiling their receipts and W-2 forms into accurate accounts of earnings and tax payments. The Kansas City-based company is now the world’s largest tax preparer, with 21 million customers in 11 countries.
Bloch was only 16 when he attended the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics then ran several entrepreneurial ventures before joining forces with his brother. In 1978, Bloch was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and told he had only three months left to live. After undergoing two years of aggressive treatment, he managed to beat the disease. This experience inspired Bloch to sell his interest in the company and become a passionate advocate for cancer patients.
He and his wife, Annette, launched the R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation, the R.A. Bloch Cancer Management Center and the R.A. Bloch Cancer Support Center at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The couple created the Cancer Hotline, one of the first free phone services staffed by experienced volunteers to help cancer patients find available treatment resources, and penned three books. In the late 1980s, he also survived a bout of colon cancer.
Bloch died on July 21 of heart failure. He was 78.