Posted on 10/07/2019
Jack Baruch (December 19, 1926 - September 30, 2019)
Jack was born in New York City, the son of Morris and Mollie (Demner) Baruch, and married Betty (Lorins) Baruch on December 16, 1948. He was a proud alumnus of the US Naval Academy, Class of 1948 and served as the supply officer of the USS Bremerton during the Korean War. Jack and Betty moved to Pacific Palisades in 1951 and raised a family there. After his military service was complete, Jack started two commercial finance companies, Baruch Investment and Advance Industrial Finance Corp with his father-in-law Nat Lorins, later acquired Trans-West Discount Corp and ultimately founded Coast Business Credit Corporation for which he acted as Chairman and Chief Officer until the end of 2000.After his retirement, at Betty's insistence, Jack maintained an office in Santa Monica and until recently continued to make investments through Trans-West. A lifelong athlete, Jack was a beach lifeguard during high school and played basketball for City College of New York before entering Annapolis. He was an avid softball and basketball player until he turned 40-years-old, joined Brentwood Country Club and took up golf. He was also an excellent card player who organized regular gin games at Brentwood. Jack died at home from complications of metastatic prostate cancer. He is predeceased by his sister Edith Solomon and son John Baruch, and survived by wife Betty, daughter Jeanne Baruch, son William Baruch and grandson Zachary Statler. He will be remembered for his silly sense of humor, his toughness in business, his warmth and generosity with family and friends, and soft spot for animals of all kinds. The family would be grateful for donations to Doctors Without Borders at donate.doctorswithoutborders.org
Published in the Los Angeles Times on Oct. 6, 2019