Isgur dies; remembered for Sedalia philanthropy

Attorney Jack Isgur was remembered by family members as a friendly, personable man who never lost his love for Sedalia.

Isgur, a 1954 Smith-Cotton High School graduate who died Friday, worked as an attorney for many years in Kansas City and supported a number of causes and organizations in Sedalia, including support to his former synagogue, preservation of the city’s Jewish cemetery and the donation of the 1,100-pound bronze tiger statue installed in the new Smith-Cotton High School in 2009.

At the time of its installation, Sedalia School District 200 Superintendent Harriet Wolfe praised Isgur’s dedication to the school.

“I think it is phenomenal that we have someone with such school spirit that they would donate something of this magnitude,” Wolfe said.

Isgur was also founder of the Jack J. Isgur Foundation for the Humanities in Education, which provides scholarships for Missouri students who intend to teach art and humanities courses in state public schools. Since 2001, the foundation awarded scholarships to more than 80 Missouri students. The scholarships, which are up to $1,500 per person, are funded entirely by Isgur.

“Humanities are the neglected part of education,” Isgur told The Democrat in 2010, “but the most vital.”

Isgur’s brother-in-law, Richard Rubins, of Leawood, Kan., told The Democrat on Saturday that Isgur’s family roots in Sedalia date back to the 1920s, and his parents, Looie and Ethel Isgur, operated Looie’s clothing store on Main Street for many years.

“Jack was a good guy and his parents were great people,” Rubins said. “Even after he moved to Kansas City, he was always interested in Sedalia and kept up relationships with friends and classmates there. He always felt a very personal relationship with the city.”

He said Isgur made provisions in his will that would provide an ongoing endowment to support his foundation.

“He had every intention that that work should continue,” Rubins said.

According to Isgur’s obituary, there will be no funeral but a headstone will be placed in the Hebrew Union Cemetery in Sedalia.

The family is requesting memorial gifts be directed to the Jack J. Isgur Foundation at Stinson Morrison Hecker Law Firm, 1201 Walnut St., 28th Floor, Kansas City, 64106, attention: Charles Jensen.