John Robert Kamrath

1941 - 2025

John Robert (Jack) Kamrath
06/03/1941 - 08/13/2025
Jack Kamrath passed away on August 13, 2025 surrounded by his loving family and loving wife of forty-four (44) years, Sandra Lee.
Born on June 3, 1941 at Houston's St. Joseph Hospital, Jack attended River Oaks Elementary, Lanier Junior High, Lamar High School (1959) and The University of Texas with a BBA in 1964 before joining Brown and Root Construction Co. for a four year tour in the 1966-1970 Viet Nam war construction buildup completing six contracts as internal auditor and Assistant Budget Director for RMK-BRJ. In Viet Nam, he met and married, Jeanne, with whom they had three incredible children in Houston, Claudine, Angela and Kevin with his wife, Molly and their two children, Lucy and Kai.
Jack married Sandra Lee McFall in 1980 in Houston. As Jack would continually remind his friends, "I married WAY over my head when I met Sandra Lee-the most gorgeous, loving and caring lady any man could hope to have as a life partner". They had two fine sons Jeff and his wife, Ginger and their two sons, Rawlings and Peyton and Kyle and his wife, Jessica and their four children Harper, Charlie, June and Caroline. Sandra and Jack's five children, their spouses and their eight grandchildren were the absolute center of his life for the next 44 years.
Taught the game of tennis by his mother, Eugenie Kamrath Gonzalez, the first tennis teaching professional at both River Oaks and Houston Country Clubs in 1937, Jack was an amazing all-sports competitor in tennis, golf, basketball and baseball and teacher/coach to hundreds of young athletes in tennis, baseball and golf. He was an accomplished all-around athlete winning the state high school tennis championship at Lamar HS in 1959 and then became UT's top tennis player on two Southwest Conference team championship teams after achieving top ten national status as a junior rackateer. He won thirty-seven club tennis championships at River Oaks Country Club including fifteen singles titles and twenty-two doubles titles with six different partners. He then became a scratch golfer, reaching the finals of River Oaks club's golf championship three times in 1990, 1994 and 1996 resulting in his fellow club golfers screaming "don't let that tennis player win our club golf championship" which he nearly did. The ultimate sporting gentleman, Jack's numerous tennis and golf competitors marveled at his highly competitive yet friendly, fair, and sportsmanlike approach to any competition. He always would follow his parents' advice, "Friendships are more important than trophies and if there is any doubt about a line call in tennis or any sport, ALWAYS give the benefit of the doubt or point to your opponent".
With a fifty-four (54) year career since 1970 as America's leading, major tennis facility architect, Jack led a highly diversified and successful career as a designer, general contractor, real estate operator and patriotic educator. His hundreds of tennis facility projects under Tennis Planning Consultants, Inc., included the USTA rated No. 1 college tennis complex at Baylor University along with other major projects at numerous colleges, cities and resorts in forty-four states, Mexico and South America. Fifteen of these projects were awarded the USTA's 'Facility of the Year' designation. From 1978, Jack's general construction firm in Houston completed numerous retail, office, warehouse and residential building projects as Kamrath Construction Corporation. He also owned and operated several office/retail real estate projects during that time. As a member of numerous professional design and construction organizations, Jack's business partners and associates consistently expressed appreciation and enjoyment of his honesty, fairness and integrity in his many business dealings and partnerships over five plus decades.
Concerned with the lack of factual, patriotic education in K-college history and social studies textbooks throughout America, with mother, Eugenie Kamrath Gonzalez and stepfather, Richard J. Gonzalez, Ph.D, Jack co-founded the American Heritage Education Foundation, Inc. (AHEF) in 1994 which became the nation's largest provider of free, K-12 patriotic social studies lesson plans for teachers, families and students in all fifty states reaching over 270,000 teachers and families who taught an average of seventeen students each. AHEF earned numerous patriotic citizenship awards from national organizations including the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution's Distinguished Patriot Award to Jack in 2008 for 'leadership in preserving America's heritage and the teaching of good citizenship principles'. AHEF continues its work today under the leadership of Jack's daughters, Angela and Claudine Kamrath.
Successful designer, builder, educator and athlete, Jack's deepest devotion was to his wife, Sandra, five children, three daughters-in-law, and eight grandchildren, Lucy, Kai, Harper, Charlie, June, Caroline, Rawlings, and Peyton Kamrath. Kevin's wife, Molly, Jeff's wife, Ginger and Kyle's wife, Jessica, were the all-important brides to the Kamrath sons.
Jack was predeceased by his father, Karl F. Kamrath in 1988 and mother, Eugenie Kamrath Gonzalez in 2018 at the age of 105 years and will be buried at Glenwood Cemetery in a family service at a future date.
Remembrances in Jack's memory can be made to the American Heritage Education Foundation, Inc. at www.americanheritage.org.