Roll Call Tribute

Jack Neal Sanford 

October 16, 1947 - May 14, 2023 

Jack Neal Sanford, a Dallas entrepreneur and business owner of more than 50 years, passed away peacefully at his home with family at his side on May 14, 2023, at the age of 75.

He was born October 16, 1947, to Bascom and Arline Sanford in Dallas.

As an early teen, Jack took an interest in finance and the stock market, raising funds through various jobs to buy stock and loan money to his older siblings. After receiving an invitation to an annual shareholders meeting, he wrote the company back alerting them that he couldn’t attend because he had school that day.

Jack liked to surprise his family and friends. As an eighth grader, he secretly planned an anniversary dinner for his parents. Since he wasn’t allowed to ride his bike too far from home, he made the arrangements for more than 20 guests over the phone, only identifying himself as “Mr. Sanford.” He paid the restaurant with cash earned from his paper route. While home from college, he surprised family members planning a move by studying for and obtaining a commercial driver license to drive a truck across the state.

He was active in the ROTC at South Oak Cliff High School and a proud Aggie until his death. Jack earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and Finance degree from Texas A&M and later earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the Braniff Graduate School at the University of Dallas.

He began his financial career in the mailroom of Eppler, Guerin and Turner stock brokerage in Dallas, and quickly advanced to prominent positions within the firm. Jack continued to study the stock market and manage his investments until just before his death.

Jack used his eye for opportunities to start a family business in 1978. He encouraged his father to partner with him in buying the wallcovering division of Bascom’s employer, the Otto Coerver Company. Together they opened Wallcovering Industries, a distributor of commercial vinyl and wood wallcovering, and designer wallpaper. Jack and his father worked side by side for years until just before Bascom’s death. Jack maintained the business until just prior to his death.

Jack was a member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, the Dallas Arboretum, the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America (PDCA), the Wallcovering Association (WA) and the Fair Park Rotary Club. He loved to feed the ducks and birds at White Rock Lake, squirrels and birds in his backyard and koi fish in his pond and enjoyed an annual outing to the State Fair of Texas with his brothers.

He especially loved his family and his neighbors in the Hillridge neighborhood of East Dallas who supported and cared for him during treatment for cancer.

Jack is preceded in death by his father and mother, brother Geoffrey Sanford, sisters-in-law Holly Sanford and Dana Sanford, brother-in-law Stephen Polzer III and nephew Stephen Polzer IV.

He is survived by sister, Cecelia Polzer, brother Michael Sanford and several nephews, nieces, great nieces, and great nephews and cousins.

Visitation will be held Thursday, May 25 from 6 pm to 8 pm at Calvary Hill Funeral Home, 3235 Lombardy Ln, Dallas TX 75220. A funeral service will occur on Friday, May 26, 2023, at 10 am at Calvary Hill. A graveside service will occur Friday, May 26, 2023 from 11 a.m. to noon at Calvary Hill Mausoleum.

In lieu of flowers, Jack requests donations be made to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or Shriners Hospitals for Children.

IN THE CARE OF
Calvary Hill Funeral Home & Cemetery