Charles W Sahlman

Charles W. (Jack) Sahlman died on August 26, 2018 at the age of 91. He is survived by his loving wife of 38 years, Ann, sons Charlie and Bill (Carol), daughter Lee (Marty), step-sons Peter (Elena) and John, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Jack had a remarkable life. He was born in 1926 in Fernandina, FL, a small town on the Northeast coast of Florida. After serving in the Navy, he graduated from Florida Southern College, met and married fellow student Alison Andrews and moved back to Fernandina in 1949. During the Depression, Jack’s father, Harry Sahlman, had entered the shrimp business. Jack joined the business and moved with it to Key West and Pensacola before setting up a permanent base of operations in Tampa in 1952.

Sahlman Seafoods grew rapidly, eventually establishing operations in Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname and Brazil. A New York Stock Exchange company, Katy Industries, purchased Sahlman Seafoods in 1970, making Jack CEO and a Katy director. By 1987, total sales exceeded $100 million. As Executive Vice President of Katy Industries, Jack was responsible for over 20 consumer product companies.

Eventually, Jack bought the business back from Katy. The company remains in operation with a shrimp farming operation in Nicaragua, which is led by Marty Williams, Jack’s son-in-law. In 2011, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton presented Sahlman Seafoods with the American Corporate Excellence Award, which recognizes U.S.-owned businesses that exhibit good corporate citizenship, promote innovation, and advance democratic principles around the world.

Jack had many hobbies over the years. He was an avid and skilled boater, owning a wide range of sailboats and power boats throughout his life. In his 50’s, he learned to snow ski. In his 70s, he took up scuba diving and underwater photography. Whether he was following Lewis and Clark, studying geology or dinosaurs, he was always learning something new that challenged him.

Jack was active in many business and civic organizations. He was a member of the National Marine Fisheries Commission, past-president of the Southeastern Fisheries Association and Commodore of the Tampa Yacht Club. In 2000, he received an Honorary degree from his alma mater, Florida Southern University, where he served on the Board of Trustees. He also served as Leadership Gifts Co-Chairman for the Founding Campaign of the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Many pieces of his antiquities collection were donated to the Tampa Museum of Art.

Jack’s greatest contribution to the community was his service as Chairman of the Hillsborough County Hospital Authority for seven years during an especially pivotal period for both Tampa General Hospital and the USF College of Medicine. His resolve and steadfast determination that the Tampa Bay Area should have world-class medical care played an important part in making TGH the modern teaching hospital it is today.

Jack accomplished many things in his life. He will be remembered for his loving nature, his insatiable curiosity, his remarkable breadth of knowledge, his sharp wit, his generosity of spirit, and his life-long love affair with ice cream and dachshunds.

A celebration of Jack’s life will take place sometime in the future. If you would like to remember him with a memorial donation, he loved both the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, 1010 N. Macinnes Place, Tampa, FL 33602 and The Angelus, an organization that provides care to severely developmentally disabled adults, 12413 Hudson Avenue, Hudson, FL 34669, where his stepson, John, lives.