Charles Schusterman -- businessman, philanthropist
and Jewish leader -- died today from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
He was 65.
Mr. Schusterman was known primarily for his
tremendous success in business and for the philanthropic activities of the
family foundation he formed with his wife of 38 years, Lynn. His accomplishments
are even more remarkable given the myriad of debilitating physical ailments from
which he suffered as a result of his battle with CML (chronic myelogenous
leukemia) during the last seventeen years of his life. First and foremost,
however, he was committed to his family.
``Our family was the most important part of Charlie's
life,'' Lynn Schusterman said. ``He loved us very much and we adored him. One of
the reasons he worked so hard on behalf of so many charitable causes was to
teach us the importance of tikkun olam -- a Hebrew phrase meaning to repair the
world. He pushed forward, encouraged the rest of us to push with him and made us
promise that we would keep on pushing even after he died in an effort to ensure
that our family would always strive to make the world a little bit better for
our children, our grandchildren and the generations to follow.''
Mr. Schusterman was the son of immigrants. He
attended the University of Oklahoma and graduated among the top 10 of his class,
with a degree in Petroleum Engineering. After a stint in the United States Army,
Mr. Schusterman returned to Tulsa and entered the oilfield salvage business. In
1961, he switched to acquiring and operating marginal oil properties and, in
1971, founded Samson Resources, named for his father who had died when Charlie
was only 19 years old.
In 1983, Mr. Schusterman was diagnosed with CML and,
since there was no known cure, was told he had six months to live. Researching
the subject in his own thorough way, Mr. Schusterman found Dr. Moshe Talpaz at
M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston and entered an experimental protocol. For the
rest of his life, despite lung damage, peripheral neuropathy, and numerous other
harsh side effects from the treatment for his leukemia, Charlie continued to
manage the explosive growth of his company, now known as Samson Investment
Company, and began to expand the number of charitable, philanthropic and
educational activities sponsored by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family
Foundation.
Melvin Dow, friend and extended family member,
recently had occasion to introduce Mr. Schusterman at an event at the Tulsa
Performing Arts Center and said that, ``No introduction of Charlie Schusterman
would be complete without a reference to his valiant and heroic fight against
leukemia. Winston Churchill, who was famous for many eloquent speeches, said
that his best speech consisted of only six words: 'Never give up. Never. Never.
Never.' If ever there were a poster child for never giving up, that poster child
would be Charlie Schusterman.''
Mr. Schusterman regularly spoke about the power of
positive thinking, and actively sought to be a role model for others with fatal
diseases and physical limitations. ``Charlie was a special person,'' said Don
Newman, a longtime friend. ``He was incredibly bright, wholly unassuming, open
and direct, and extremely generous. He had an insatiable thirst for knowledge, a
desire to teach and a love of life which characterized his tenacious fight
against his illness. We will all miss him very much.''
Over the past 30 years, Mr. Schusterman built Samson
into the second largest independent gas producing company headquartered in
Oklahoma and one of the 20 largest independent oil and gas companies in the
entire United States. Samson's activities stretch from the deep waters of the
Gulf of Mexico through 23 states to the frozen tundra of Canada, and into Russia
and Venezuela as well. Its business includes the production, development and
exploration for oil and gas as well as the acquisition and operation of
producing properties. Mr. Schusterman moved from being a co-CEO of Samson in
September, 2000, to become its Chairman, and the company is now directed by his
daughter, Stacy Schusterman, and her co-CEO, Jack Schanck.
Founded in 1987, the Schusterman Family Foundation
has been recognized by experts in the field as a model charitable foundation and
has received awards not only for its generosity but also for its innovative
creativity. It supports programs that enhance and enrich Jewish life in the
United States, Israel and the former Soviet Union. The Foundation also funds
Oklahoma-based, non-sectarian charitable groups that focus on education,
children and community service.
Included among the largest individual grants made to
date by the Schusterman Family Foundation are:
- $11.25 million to Synagogue Transformation and
Renewal (STAR), a Chicago-based philanthropic partnership committed to
enhancing synagogues and increasing their potential to connect and
inspire Jews in North American Jewish communities.
- $10 million to the University of Oklahoma to
establish the Schusterman Center at the University of Oklahoma in Tulsa,
expanding the OU presence and providing the cohesiveness, facilities and
organizational identity to aid in future program development for the Tulsa
campus.
- $5 million to the World Union of Progressive
Judaism to help complete Mercaz Shimshon (Samson Center), a new cultural
center in Jerusalem named in honor of Mr. Schusterman's father.
- $1.5 million to the Partnership for Excellence in
Jewish Education (PEJE); an initiative designed to meet the challenge of
providing excellent Jewish education for K-12 with the goal of ensuring a
Jewish presence into the next century; and
- $1 million to the Oklahoma School of Science and
Mathematics in Oklahoma City to help complete its new science building, the
Samson Science and Discovery Center.
Through his foundation, Mr. Schusterman helped build
Succat Shalom: The Jerusalem Center for Children and their Families, the
Parent-Child Center of Tulsa and the Schusterman-Benson Library in Tulsa.
Organizations that receive substantial annual support from the Schusterman
Family Foundation include Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, the
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the American Israel
Education Foundation, National Conference of Community and Justice (NCCJ) and
the Community Action Project of Tulsa County, especially for its Earned Income
Tax Credit and school supply programs.
``This is a great loss not only for the Schusterman
family, but for Tulsa, all of Oklahoma and indeed the entire country,'' said
Senator Don Nickles (R-OK, Assistant Majority Leader).
Mr. Schusterman was active in many local, national
and international organizations. He was the president of both STAR and PEJE, a
co-Chair of the Hillel Board of Governors and an officer of AIPAC (American
Israel Public Affairs Committee).
Mr. Schusterman received numerous honors and awards.
He is a member of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, the Tulsa Hall of Fame and the
Central High School Hall of Fame. In 1998, Mr. Schusterman received the
Humanitarian Award of the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory
Medicine and the Maimonides Award from the Jewish Federation of Tulsa. In 1999,
he was presented with the Global Vision Award from the Tulsa Global Alliance and
the Major Benefactors Honor Award of the Association for Library Trustees and
Advocates.
Earlier this year, Mr. Schusterman spoke from the
floor of both the Oklahoma State Senate and House of Representatives. This rare
opportunity for an Oklahoma citizen to address the State Legislature was
afforded Mr. Schusterman so he could respond to the issuance of a Concurrent
Resolution citing him for his vision, extraordinary sense of community
responsibility and willingness to give generously of his time as well as his
resources to numerous causes and organizations.
The resolution cited Mr. and Mrs. Schusterman as
people ``who embody the pioneering spirit and the family values of the citizens
of Oklahoma through their compassion, perseverance and steadfast commitment to
enhancing the quality of life here and throughout the world'' and as
``outstanding Oklahomans, visionary leaders, exemplars of excellence and role
models worthy of emulation.''
Mr. Schusterman thanked the legislators for this
special privilege by expressing his ``deepest humility and utmost
appreciation.'' He also said that he was ``someone who has been blessed to live
the American dream in this great, big, wonderful country of ours ...
.''
Mr. Schusterman is survived by his wife, Lynn;
children, Hal (Ruth), Stacy (Steven Dow) and Jay (Mary); six granddaughters;
brother, Dan (Gloria); sister, Ruth; and brother-in-law, Albert
Morrison.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on December 31,
2000