Carl Bernard Zucker

Carl Bernard Zucker, 90, of Houston, Texas, passed away on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, peacefully and with his family by his side, after a courageous battle with cancer. Carl was born February 21, 1935, in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Raised by his loving and hard-working mother, Eva Drimer, Carl developed a sense of independence and an entrepreneurial spirit early on. Carl worked his way through college at Boston University, playing on its basketball team, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree. After college, Carl served in the United States Army Reserves. He and Sheila Marcus, the love of his life, met in 1959, married the next year, and started their life of more than 60 years together in Holyoke. Carl began his business career in marketing and public relations, including work for Mister Donut as well as Dunkin’ Donuts, which was in the process of expanding outside of Massachusetts. Carl came to Houston in the early 1960s to scout for locations and saw tremendous opportunity in a city that was experiencing explosive growth at the time. Carl developed the first Texas Dunkin’ Donuts store near Hobby Airport, and in 1965, Carl and Sheila decided to make Houston their permanent home. Carl continued to look for opportunities to develop shopping centers for retail and restaurants, working on multiple projects with Dunkin’ Donuts, Shakey’s Pizza, and Baskin Robbins, among others. Carl’s real estate career spanned five decades, and his development company, Zucker Properties, had success in Houston, the Woodlands, and other nearby cities. Ultimately, Carl’s son, Brad Zucker, and later his grandson, Grant Zucker, joined the business and expanded into the student housing market, with developments completed and underway in Texas and several other states. Although his main focus was always real estate, Carl had an active entrepreneurial mind and was never afraid to act quickly on opportunities that caught his attention. In the mid-1970s, he saw the first Pong video game at an event and soon formed an arcade company that at its peak had more than 1,000 video games, pinball machines, and jukeboxes in establishments across Houston. He also imported European cars in the 1980s and established two restaurant companies, Hannah’s Pies and Alfie’s Fish and Chips, along the way. Outside of business, Carl was an obsessive sports fan and had season tickets to the Rockets, the Oilers, and later, the Texans. Carl had a special fondness for the NFL draft, in preparation for which he would spend many hours reading and researching. Carl also loved reading and learning about history and became an avid collector of autographs and signed historical documents. Carl loved meeting and talking with people and always had keen advice for his friends and anyone who asked, but nothing made him happier than being with his wife, children, and grandchildren. Carl was preceded in death by his parents and is survived by his loving wife, Sheila; his son, Todd Zucker; son, Brad Zucker and his wife, Cindy Greenberg; and grandchildren, Grant Zucker and his wife, Brooke, Nic Zucker, Megan Martin, and Kyle Cimino. One of Carl’s final goals was to celebrate his 90th birthday, which he was only able to do with the loving care and assistance from many, many people to whom the Zucker family is grateful. A Memorial Service will be held on Sunday, May 25, 2025, at 4:00 PM in The Freedman-Levit Sanctuary at Congregation Beth Yeshurun, 4525 Beechnut St., Houston, Texas 77096. Donations should be made to Jewish Family Services (https://www.alexanderjfs.org/get-involved/ways-to-give), the Houston Holocaust Museum (https://hmh.org/give/ways-to-give/), or the Dr. Mary and Ron Neal Cancer Center at Houston Methodist (https://www.houstonmethodist.org/giving/), a leading facility for innovative esophageal cancer research and treatment.

Carl Bernard Zucker

February 21, 1935 - May 21, 2025