Jack Finkelstein

Jack Finkelstein was born at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Houston, Texas on the 18th of April 1927, five blocks from his family’s home located on the corner of Chenevert and Clay. He passed away at Methodist Hospital on the 9th of June 2016, a month after kidney surgery.

At eight years old, Jack was enrolled in the Irving School of Tarrytown, N.Y., rumored to be adjacent to Washington Irving's legendary Sleepy Hollow. After serving his country in the U.S. Navy from 1944-1946, Jack was discharged and attended the University of Texas and, subsequently, the University of Houston, of which he was particularly fond.

Jack was a classic entrepreneur. From 1948 to 1952 he was employed by Shields & Company in various capacities and as an investment counselor for Shearson, Hammill & Co. from 1952 to 1960. He left Shearson, Hamill in 1960 to supervise the estate of his late father, M.B. Finkelstein, who was a charter stockholder of Humble Oil & Refining Company. Jack loved the stock market and traded stocks from that point on until the last weeks of his life.

In 1965, Jack began an association with Service Corporation International then known as Southern Capital Co. He was instrumental in obtaining “seed” capital for Service Corp. in its early years and participated in its initial public offering in 1968 on the American Stock Exchange. Jack served on Service Corp.’s board of directors, its executive and audit committees, and was chairman of the investment committee. He was very proud of his decades-long tenure at Service Corp. and truly enjoyed his long association with Bob Waltrip and everyone else at SCI with whom he worked to help make it the largest and most successful funeral services company in North America.

Jack was the founder of the Finkelstein Foundation in Houston and served as president until 2014 and as a director until his death. He served as a director of the Conference of Southwest Foundations, Southmore House in Houston, a director of the Jewish Home for the Aged, and a director of Family Service Life Insurance Company.

For a number of years Jack was active in the oil and gas industry. He participated in the development of the North Bivens Field in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, with Ashland Oil serving as the initial operator, and in the discovery and development of the East Old Ocean Field in Brazoria County, Texas, in which Dow Chemical was the initial operator.

In January of 1951, Jack married Carol Sue Nathan, whose family moved to Houston from Chicago in 1946. Coincidentally, they discovered that Carol Sue’s grandfather had painted a portrait of Jack’s father in 1918 well before the birth of either of the future spouses. In 1952 they had their first son, Jack Jr. (J.J.). Over the next four years they adopted a daughter, Janet, and a son, Jim.

Jack was predeceased by his mother Fannie Finkelstein, his father M.B. Finkelstein, his two sisters, Hortense Feldblum and Selma Kilberg, and his nephew Jim Kilberg.

Jack is survived by his ex-wife, his three children, his daughter-in-law Linda Parisi Finkelstein, and his three grandchildren, Laura and Emily Finkelstein and Andrea Stribling. Although he often said little, Grandpa Jack made it known, in his own unique way, how proud he was of each one. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews in Texas, New Mexico, New York, and New Jersey.

Jack had many diverse interests. He considered education to be very important and loved reading, especially science fiction and had an extensive collection of sci-fi books and press clippings starting from the 1940’s. In the 1960’s he was an avid photographer and videographer, having filmed the entire 1965 Kinkaid Middle School football season where his older son was a member of the team and well before such endeavors became commonplace. He also would volunteer at hospitals at the Texas Medical Center to film surgeries to be used for the advancement of medical education, again well before such practices became commonplace.

While not particularly religious, Jack was a founder of The Houston Congregation for Reformed Judaism in Houston where he taught Sunday school classes for a few years. He also help fund the Jewish Home for the Aged. He was a long-time member of Westwood Country Club and a lifetime member of the Houstonian.

Jack had an unusual sense of humor only appreciated by certain people. In the early years, he would carry cartoons in his wallet and give them out in person. Then, to increase efficiency he began using the U.S. Postal Service, albeit with an increased cost of doing business. The 1980’s led to worse abuse with the advent of facsimile machines. And, finally, the internet age arrived enabling Jack to send his library of cartoons to family, friends and everyone else he ever met at no cost simply with the click of a mouse. No one loved jokes and telling them more than Jack. He laughed with eye-popping gusto at his own jokes but barely cracked a smile at anyone else’s until he told them as his own.

While his life was far from perfect, he lived it exactly the way he wanted.

Jack’s family would like to thank Beverly Johnson, his administrative assistant during the 1960’s and 1970’s and Pat Howell, his administrative assistant until the time of his death, both of whom have been exceptionally loyal to him and his family throughout the years while helping manage his personal and professional activities. The family would also like to thank Jerry Reyes and the Geo. H. Lewis Funeral Home for its guidance during this trying time. Finally, the family thanks Jack’s friends, associates, and professional colleagues who helped him throughout his life.

Friends are cordially invited to gather with the family and share remembrances of Jack from three o’clock until five o’clock in the afternoon on Wednesday, the 15th of June 2016, in the grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be directed to the charity of one’s choice.