Jack Zarrow, 86, died Thursday, February 2, 2012. He was 86. Born in Tulsa in 1925, Jack C. Zarrow was the third child of Russian immigrants Sam and Rose Zarrow.

The younger brother of Henry Zarrow, founder of Tulsa-based Sooner Pipe and Supply Co., Jack Zarrow joined the business in 1947. In helping Sooner Pipe become one of the most prominent oil-and-gas supply companies worldwide, he would serve as the company's executive vice president, as well as president and CEO of the Zarrow family's growing stable of nonpipeline oil enterprises.


Jack Zarrow married Texas-native Maxine Foreman in 1947, the same year he graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in petroleum engineering.

Zarrow, who worked his way through school waiting tables, was the first of his family to graduate from college. From there, he returned to Tulsa to join the family oil business, which his brother had started in 1938 and which by that time also included their father. As president and CEO of the family's nonpipe enterprises, Jack Zarrow oversaw the Bigheart group of oil transport companies, TK Valve & Manufacturing, Prime Actuator Control Systems and Zarrow Holding Co.


Business success would enable the Zarrows to support countless causes and charities. The Maxine and Jack Zarrow Family Foundation provides funding primarily to Tulsa-area charities, especially those supporting the arts, children, mental health and Jewish concerns. Beyond Tulsa, the foundation has established professorships at the Mayo Clinic, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas, and has donated to Jewish causes in the United States and Israel.


Jack Zarrow also co-founded and served as a trustee for the Zarrow Families Foundation. He served on the boards of many Tulsa institutions, including the University of Tulsa and the Gilcrease Museum, where he was a former chairman and a director emeritus. He was also a longtime donor, underwriting many museum improvements, including its 1987 expansion.


Zarrow also served on the boards of Hillcrest Medical Center, the Tulsa Education Foundation, the National Conference for Community and Justice, the Jewish Federation of Tulsa and the Tulsa Jewish Retirement & Health Care Center, which he and his wife were instrumental in establishing.


Fighting homelessness was another favorite cause of the Zarrows. The Jack and Maxine Zarrow family, together with the Henry and Anne Zarrow family, donated the land where the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless was built.


Jack Zarrow served on the engineering advisory boards of TU, OU and the University of Texas, as well as on several government task forces related to energy and engineering. He was a former chairman of the Grand River Dam Authority.

A member of both the Tulsa and Oklahoma halls of fame, Zarrow received many awards and honors.


A distinguished graduate of the University of Texas College of Engineering, he and his brother were named Co-Executives of the Year in 1980 by Executive Women International's Tulsa Chapter.


In addition to receiving awards from the National Jewish Hospital and the Jewish Federation of Tulsa, Jack Zarrow also received the Brotherhood Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews.


Zarrow's survivors include his wife, Maxine Zarrow; his brother, Henry Zarrow; three children, Gail Richards, Kathy Zarrow and Scott Zarrow; four grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.

The family suggests that any memorials given in Jack's name be made to the charity of your choice.

Funeral Service will be Sunday, 11 AM, at B'nai Emunah Synagogue.
Interment will follow at Rose Hill Cemetery.

FITZGERALD IVY CHAPEL 918.585.1151