Bernard Rapoport*

The son of Russian immigrants, Bernard Rapoport was born in 1917 in San Antonio, Texas. His father was a peddler who sold blankets for 10 cents down and 10 cents a week in the poor neighborhoods of San Antonio. His mother, whom Rapoport described as "the personification of love," was a self-sacrificing woman who created a warm, supportive home for her two children. Although his lack of skills or fluency in English kept Rapoport's father from finding a job that paid well, he did not ignore his self-education. Reading was of primary importance to him and one of the only free-time activities allowed in the strict Rapoport household.

Punished for his involvement in the Russian Revolution of 1905, Rapoport's father had been exiled to Siberia for life when he was 17. Eventually, he escaped and immigrated with his brother to the United States, arriving in Texas in 1913. Rapoport's father often reminded his son that coming from a Jewish revolutionary family meant he would have to work twice as hard to get half as far in life.

Although he felt loved and nurtured, Rapoport suffered from his family's grinding poverty and the many humiliations it caused. When he was seven, Rapoport was appalled when he came home from school and found his family's furniture in the street. They had been unable to make their payments and were literally thrown out of their house. For many years, his family never had the electricity, phone, gas, and water all turned on at the same time. Whenever a friend would ask to use the phone, Rapoport would pick it up first to see if it was in service.

When Rapoport was 11, his father took a job selling insurance. At first, it seemed as if their financial struggles would end, but it was 1928 and the Great Depression soon took its toll. Rapoport got his first job selling subscriptions to Liberty magazine. He also earned 25 cents a day distributing advertising circulars for the neighborhood grocery store.

Hard work was the cornerstone value passed on to Rapoport from his rigid father, who told his son, "You are always old; you are never young." Rapoport knew his father meant that he should never be a procrastinator and that he had to accomplish as much as possible each day.

Even as an adult, he remembered his father calling him at five o'clock in the morning to ask him what he was doing. After telling his father he was sleeping, Rapoport would hear, "Son, do you want to be a bum all of your life? Get out of bed and start reading a book right now!" Rapoport did become a disciplined person. An avid reader in his youth, he visited the library nearly every day. Throughout his life, he woke up early enough every day so that he could read for 90 minutes before going to work.

When he was 13, Rapoport suffered a debilitating accident. He had just gotten off the city bus in front of his house, eager to get inside to listen to a World Series baseball game on the radio. He ran in front of a car, which hit him and threw him up onto the sidewalk, breaking his leg badly. Rapoport's parents could not afford the best medical care, and the injury took more than a year to heal completely. By then, one leg was significantly shorter than the other. In bed for five months, he had to be tutored to keep up with his class.

Studying, however, was never a chore for Rapoport and he secretly hoped he would become a professor one day. It looked as if his dream would come true when he graduated at the top of his class, winning a scholarship to a college in the Midwest. But Rapoport could not afford to travel to that school, so instead he enrolled in San Antonio Junior College, putting off his goal of going to a major university. Even though he was still living at home, Rapoport had to work to pay for his expenses. He got a job on campus with the National Youth Administration, earning 25 cents an hour washing chemistry bottles.

The following year, Rapoport transferred to the University of Texas in Austin, yet it was a struggle to work full time and attend classes. He worked at Zales, a jewelry store, whose hours allowed him to attend classes in the morning and work a full day after lunch and on Saturdays. During his senior year, he became responsible not only for his own support, but also for that of his sister. She was a freshman and his parents' financial struggles still kept them from offering assistance. Rapoport said his years at the University of Texas were the most important of his life. He majored in economics and became active in politics, joining the Progressive Democrats, a student organization.

In 1942, Rapoport met and married Audre Newman. Two years later, they opened their own store in Waco called Art's Jewelers. Politically active, the Rapoports managed the gubernatorial campaign for a local Democratic candidate, investing their entire personal savings of $3,000 in the race. Their risky investment caused them to go so deeply into debt they were forced to sell the store in 1949.

Starting over, Rapoport became an insurance salesman for the Pioneer American Insurance Company of Houston. Within a few months, he moved to Waco and opened a general agency office, which quickly became a success. Soon after, with $200,000 in capital and $100,000 of surplus, Rapoport and his wife's uncle, Harold Goodman, formed the American Income Life Insurance Company (AIL), which quickly grew nationwide.

In 1994, after more than four decades guiding and growing his company, Rapoport sold AIL to Torchmark Corp. Under terms of the acquisition, Torchmark kept him on as chairman and CEO.

A role model and mentor to young people Rapoport's advice to them was based on the values he learned from his parents. His own approach to life could be summed up in three points: Protect your name, never let a book out of your hands, and have a sense of outrage at injustice.

Rapoport launched a volunteer tutoring program in Waco's public schools and was himself a weekly volunteer. "Through education, we accord people their dignity," said Rapoport, who believed that every citizen should get the chance to succeed, and that education is the key to making that happen. "That is why my Horatio Alger Award means so much to me," he said. "I am honored that it recognizes my accomplishments and public service, but I am especially thrilled about the scholarships for at-risk youth. I believe society is indictable whenever we deny anyone the opportunity to achieve what is possible."