Joseph Robert Alpert

Bob Alpert, Dallas resident for over 50 years, passed away peacefully after a lengthy illness October 17, 2018. Mr. Alpert was born on January 9, 1932, in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, to Jacob Samuel and Verna Victoria Alpert. He spent his childhood growing up in Brewer, Maine, but upon graduation from college and throughout his life, sought out people and places all over the world to connect with, learn from, mentor many and leave an indelible impression with all!

A star athlete at Brewer High School (“The Bill Stern Award –Athlete of the Year-1949”) and later at Colby College, Alpert graduated with a Business Degree and later awarded an Honorary Master’s Degree from Colby. He established an educational scholarship fund at Colby very soon upon establishing himself in the business world which continues to help hundreds of students achieve their dreams. This was the first of many mentoring relationships Alpert engaged himself in throughout his long and productive life.

Serving our country as a First Lieutenant in the United States Air Force, Alpert’s passion for flying was fulfilled when he trained and flew the T-33 as a pilot. The Air Force later placed Alpert in a teaching assignment instructing army pilots at the flight school in San Marcus, Texas. It was during this time that Alpert was given the opportunity to see many different parts of the world,where he would later re-visit and actively interact as a successful businessman. Receiving an honorable discharge in 1957, Alpert took his first position as an assistant to the President, Ned Gill, for Ned Gill & Company in Houston, Texas. He enrolled in The University of Houston Law school “to try to continue down the path of respectability as an attorney”.

By 1961, Alpert had launched his career in the banking industry with Tennessee Bank & Trust. Feeling the entrepreneurial spirit pulling him in other directions, he left Houston for St. Louis with the Missouri Pacific Railroad serving as vice president and later as president and director of the Missouri Improvement Corporation. On subsequent trips to Dallas with railroad work, Alpert established himself with local business entrepreneurs who would eventually lure him to accept a position as president of American Home Realty Corporation from1967-1969. By this time, he had started his own company, Alpert Investment Corporation, in Florida with his older brother, Maurice Alpert. Together, they launched developments of major shopping centers, banks, hotels, and resorts throughout Florida, Georgia, Oregon, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, the Caribbean, and Europe. Acclaimed projects worth recognition are Forum 303 Mall, Forum Bank, The Omni Int’l Hotel & office complex in Atlanta and Miami, Sun River in Oregon, and Lakeway in Austin. Alpert’s biggest vision came to life in the early 1970’s near Austin when he took his love of turning a piece of dirt into a place where people could gather, live, work, play, and retire. The Lakeway Development showcased a premier professional tennis complex, the first golf course in Austin designed exclusively by Jack Nicklaus, and a mixed residential community. As Alpert was always driven to give back to the community, he donated land within the development for Lake Travis High School so that children could attend a school closer to their homes. Lakeway continues to be a highly desirable area to live, work, play, and retire as Alpert had envisioned, set in the beautiful hill country outside of Austin.

In 1982, Bob’s close friend and fellow director at TXI, Ian Wachtmeister of Sweden, convinced him to buy a summer residence in Båstad, Sweden. As a lover of tennis, Bob would religiously play two hours every morning and soon cultured a close relationship with a dynamic group of equally visionary Swedish business leaders, financiers and entrepreneurs, fondly nicknamed “The Muppets”. With their love for tennis, the group was instrumental in the development and growth of the Båstad Tennis Association, in close relation with the Swedish Tennis Association at “Driven Tennis and Sports Center”. Urging his friends to put their entrepreneurial colleague, Hans Wallgren, in charge, the center began focusing on fostering new, elite tennis talent. In a similar spirit, Bob and “The Muppets”, spearheaded by the entrepreneurial leadership of Eric Paulsson and Bob’s longtime mentee and close friend, Lars Henningson, remodeled and expanded the old Skansen Hotel into one of the top conference centers in Scandinavia that still hosts the traditional Swedish Open, featuring world acclaimed tennis talents.

While Alpert was a competitive tennis and golf player throughout the years, there were really two titles that seemed to best fit him and follow him throughout life. One was given to him by a close friend early in his career. Alpert was tagged as a “serial entrepreneur”. The other was openly known by anyone who knew him, that of “mentor”. His lasting legacy to so many that crossed his path was his charismatic personality, great humor and sincere interest in people of any rank or race. He was always available to share time and insight with anyone who were willing to work and listen, thus over six decades across America, Europe, and Asia built businesses, but at the same time built esteemed and successful new business leaders and entrepreneurs.

Mr. Alpert served on numerous public and private boards – Consolidated Freightways, TXI-Emery Worldwide, Aladdin Industries, Horchow Corporation, AisaInfo (China), Empire AB (Sweden), Trio Consulting and Hotel Skansen in Sweden, and many more too numerous to name.

Among Mr. Alpert’s many contributions and community service included 17 years as the Swedish Consul in Dallas, founding member of the Dallas Art Museum, Trustee Emeriti Colby College, Lifetime Member University of Texas McCombs School of Business Advisory Council, Advisory Director to Business Executives for National Security (BENS), and The Dallas Foundation for Health, Education, & Research. Alpert was knighted for his outstanding Consular service to Sweden by King Carl XVI Gustav and bestowed with the most honorable Polar Star award in 1997.

In addition to his wife of 42 years, Sidsel Taubo Alpert of Dallas, he is survived by his daughter Laura Alpert, son & daughter-in-law Robert Hudson and Jean Marie Alpert, and son Christopher James Alpert. Mr. Alpert was very proud to be called “Far Far” (Grandfather) by his granddaughters, Ashley Alpert, Emily Alpert, Sterling Alpert, Hannah Alpert, Alexandra Alpert and one grandson, Charlie Alpert. Bob was preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Sally Clifford, and a brother, Maurice Alpert.

Special thanks are forwarded from his wife and family to Sally Hawkins, Amy Carpenter, Antonia Juarez, Tim Byrne, Robert Utley, Don Zale, Jerry Ridnour, Mike Habte, and Curtis Brown along with all his close friends here and abroad that followed and supported him on the last leg of his life’s journey.

There will be a public visitation on Thursday, November 1, 2018, from 4:00-6:00pm at Sparkman-Hillcrest. A public memorial service will be held in Dallas on Friday, November 2, 2018, at 1:00pm at Highland Park United Methodist Church, with a reception following at the Dallas Country Club. A memorial celebration of Mr. Alpert’s life will also be held in their summer hometown, Båstad, Sweden, at a later date. Gifts in Bob’s memory, in lieu of flowers, can be sent to Colby College – J. Robert Scholarship Fund (On line at colby.edu/give or by mail to Colby College, Division of College Advancement, 173 Main Street, Suite 201, Waterville, ME 04901-8843) or to the University of Texas McCombs School of Business

(On line at https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/utgiving/online/nlogon/).