Charities will benefit for next 20 years from Las Vegan’s estate

Angela Soo

Tuesday, July 3, 2001 | 9:32 a.m.

Businessman Charles Tarr Jr. made sure his legacy of charitable donations would continue well after his death.

Tarr, who quietly donated to various organizations for years before he died at the age of 84 in December 1999, set aside 60 percent of his estate to be distributed among 17 nonprofit groups over a period of 20 years. The family settled his estate and made the first donations Friday.

"He did it every year," Barbara Tarr, his only daughter, said. "This is just to perpetuate what he's been doing for many years. He donated to all these charities without anyone knowing about it."

Her father was known as Mr. Anonymous to some, she said, because he never sought attention when making his donations.

"Many people asked what he did with all his money because he would live a low profile, low maintenance and modest existence," she said.

The first set of checks, ranging from $3,500 to $7,000, were passed out by Tarr's grandson, John Harrison, during a luncheon Friday at the Las Vegas Country Club.

Most of the organizations will continue to receive annual checks of $500 or $1,000 for the next 20 years. The Charles T. Kandel Post 711 Jewish War Veterans will receive $5,000 a year until 2007.

But that's not the end of Tarr's giving. About $2.6 million of his estate will be reinvested, and in 20 years the entire amount will be disbursed to the groups, Harrison said.

"The terms of my grandfather's trusts are consistent with his personal philosophy of saving and investing in the present to make future gains," Harrison said.

If Tarr was consistent with his philosophy on finance, he didn't reveal much consistency in the types of organizations he supported.

He was Jewish, yet two of the groups were Lutheran and Catholic churches.

He also donated to City of Hope, a leading cancer and diabetes facility; the Nellis Senior Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol, which aids in search and rescue missions; and the Milton I. Schwartz Hebrew Academy in Summerlin.

"He was an equal opportunity giver," Tarr said.

"It's very unusual, and I'm glad to be a part of it," Mark Fine, of the National Jewish Medical and Research Center, said.

Tarr was born Oct. 20, 1915, in Kiev, Ukraine, and his parents moved to Philadelphia when he was 2. He came to Las Vegas in 1950 after serving in World War II as a highly decorated Air Force pilot. He initially worked as a baccarat dealer, and on the side, he ran a company, Addressing and Mailing Inc.

"If indeed how an individual spends his money tells a lot about them, then you, the recipient, already know a lot about my father," Tarr said.