George Henry Jurek

Dr. George H. Jurek – dental practitioner, educator, public health administrator, philanthropist, and entrepreneur – died peacefully at his home in Waco, Texas on September 7, 2024, just a couple of weeks after reaching his 97th birthday.

He was born on a farm near Axtell, Texas on August 24, 1927 to Henry and Sophie Jurek. He has summarized his life, his proudest achievements, and his greatest joys as follows:

Dr. Jurek’s primary education was achieved in Waco Public Schools, Sacred Heart Academy, and Waco (Buck’s) Academy. To assist the family financially, his first job at a young age was as a paper boy in Waco, where his routes were located in the most economically disadvantaged area of town. As he liked to recount the story, Waco had two daily papers then: the News Tribune and the Times Herald. The cost of a daily paper for 6 days was 13 cents and 18 cents for the addition of the Sunday paper, or 55 cents per month for daily only, and 75 cents per month with the Sunday paper added. Dr. Jurek won many honors for increasing sales within his territory, taking one route (C-8M) from 66 to 125 daily customers.

While at Waco High School, family financial needs dictated that Dr. Jurek suspend his normal studies to work for the MKT Railroad as a machinist apprentice, then Hillcrest Hospital in Waco as an orderly during the time Julian Pace was CEO. He attended night school while working at the railroad and hospital.

Following high school graduation at age 17, Dr. Jurek volunteered for the Navy Medical Corp. with the intent to serve in the Fleet Marines. He graduated from the Navy Medical Corp. School with honors and was assigned to treat paralyzed Marines with spinal cord injuries resulting from machine gun strafing. He served in this capacity until President Truman ended WWII by use of the A-bomb.

Prior to his professional life, he also sold life insurance, worked as a chemist for Celanese Corp of America in Bishop, Texas, and held jobs at Brown’s Mfg. Co, Weston Biscuit Co. in Waco, and Methodist Hospital in Houston.

Dr. Jurek attended St. Edwards University and received his Bachelor’s Degree from Baylor University while completing didactic courses toward a Master’s Degree in Social Work. He received his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Texas Dental Branch (Houston) and his Master’s in Public Health from the University of Texas (Houston).

He was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship for a Doctor of Medical Sciences degree at Harvard University and continued to participate in longitudinal studies based at Harvard until his death. He was responsible for the development of a highly successful two-year dental laboratory program at Texas State Technical College and later assisted in the curriculum development for and the teaching of gross anatomy at Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Ft. Worth, now a part of North Texas Medical Center in Denton. Dr. Jurek submitted articles that were published in the American Journal on Mental Retardation and the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Dr. Jurek practiced dentistry in Waco for fifteen years during which time he served on many church and civic boards, particularly those dealing with healthcare delivery. For thirty-eight years following his practice, he served in a variety of state-level positions involved in providing dental care through public health services. He worked to successfully restore the indigent dental program in Laredo, Texas and helped direct Model City funds to build the second floor of the present-day Waco McLennan County Health Department building. As Regional Dental Director and Deputy Medical Director of Texas Public Health, Region IX, he was most proud of formulating and implementing a statewide dental program for thousands of young indigent Texans. He served as Dental Director for the Texas Dept. of MHMR’s eight hospitals and thirteen schools and was Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Texas MHMR. Also of note was his success in writing and obtaining a Dept. of HEW grant to teach dental personnel how to adequately treat and manage patients with severe mental disabilities, sharing credit with the Baylor College of Dentistry faculty for the success of the program.

In these various roles, Dr. Jurek worked with the Texas legislature and acquired the first-ever appreciable funds for the Texas Dept. of Health’s dental programs for the indigent population. He often reminded his associates and co-workers how very important it is in public health work to involve decision makers at the local, regional, and state levels for organizations such as the Texas Dental Association, Texas Medical Association, the University of Texas, and Texas A&M University, and most of all, interested private citizens such as Mrs. Mary Butt of HEB.

Most recently, Dr. Jurek established a permanently endowed fund to provide preventive and acute dental treatment for patients of the Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network through their partnership with Waco Family Medicine’s dental program. Additionally, Dr. Jurek gave the lead gift to build the state-of-the-art dental clinic in Waco Family Medicine’s new health center.

Dr. Jurek was a lifetime member of the American Dental Association, Texas Dental Association, and the University of Texas Dental Branch Alumni Association, as well as being a member of the American Public Health Association, Alpha Kappa Delta international honor society for sociology, Knights of Columbus, Serra International, American Institute of Oral Biology, Ridgewood Country Club, and Uvalde Country Club. Dr. Jurek was a Catholic Eucharistic Minister and served on the first School Board for Reicher Catholic High School.

A glimpse at George H. Jurek beyond his professional life reveals his love for all varieties of music. While still at Waco High School, he played the e-flat tuba with Mr. Lyle Skinner’s Tiger Band and won 1st place medals in band competitions, evidencing his talent for music at an early age. And as a self-taught accordion player, he reveled in the opportunity to share those skills at gatherings in his home. That passion for music lead to his role as principal founder of the Reicher Catholic High School band and fostered his support of the Waco Symphony for many years. He enjoyed ballroom dancing and belonged to dance clubs in Waco, Temple, and Austin, the waltz and rhumba being his favorite dance steps. Dr. Jurek’s avocations were in architecture and landscaping; and dealing in real estate, both as an investor and licensed realtor, was a side interest to and following the many phases of his career in dentistry.

Preceding Dr. Jurek in death were his parents; his sons, George Jonathan Jurek of Carrollton and Dr. Richard Stephen Jurek of San Marcos; his sister, Genevieve Giles of Brenham; and his brother, Richard Jurek of Waco. Surviving him are his sister, Rita Shelburne of Austin; his daughters, Monica Cates-Rosko of Charlottesville, VA, Andrea Atnip of Corpus Christi, and Cecelia Bentz of Houston; his son, Brian Jurek of Austin; seven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

A private burial took place, per Dr. Jurek’s wishes. Charitable contributions in his memory may be made to The Waco Foundation for the Dr. George Jurek Dental Service Fund or to any charity of your choosing.

We invite you to leave a message or memory of Dr. Jurek on his “Tribute Wall” at www.WHBfamily.com