Updated at 4:55 p.m.
Rich Tarrant, the Vermont basketball All-American, businessman, politician and philanthropist who made his fortune at IDX Systems and waged a spirited political challenge against Bernie Sanders for the U.S. Senate in 2006, died Tuesday. He was 83.
The cause of death was stage-four cancer, son Rich Jr. said. His father died at his home in Florida with his family.
Tarrant, a New Jersey child of Irish immigrants, debuted in Vermont in the 1960s as a transfer athlete at St. Michael’s College, where he smashed most men’s basketball records on the way to becoming the college’s first and only First Team All-American. He lead the team to the semifinals of the NCAA Division II national tournament in 1965. The college later retired his jersey, #22.
The Boston Celtics drafted Tarrant with the 38th pick in the 1965 NBA draft, but he was cut before playing a professional game. The Celtics went on to win the NBA Finals that year, led by Hall of Fame center Bill Russell.
A few years later, Tarrant and several business partners, including Robert Hoehl, founded a health-care information-technology company that later became IDX Systems. The University of Vermont was one of the company’s first clients, Tarrant would later say. IDX later became a significant player in the industry. General Electric scooped up IDX for $1.2 billion in 2006.
Tarrant used a portion of his growing fortune to buy a 2005 Bentley Coupe GT. He also self-financed a run for U.S Senate in 2006. His chief opponent was Sanders, who was hoping to move up from the House of Representatives. The late Seven Days political columnist Peter Freyne dubbed the Republican candidate “Ritchie Rich” and analyzed how his slick campaign ads hailed a new era of big-money politics in Vermont.
Sanders won nearly two-thirds of the vote.
Tarrant created a charitable foundation in 2005 with his second wife, Deb, called the Richard E. and Deborah L. Tarrant Foundation. The organization has since donated tens of millions to various causes in Vermont, even after Tarrant moved his primary residence to Florida around 2010.
The foundation has spent most of its assets, according to its website, and is concentrating its remaining grant-making efforts that explore “broad patterns of disengagement among boys and young men — from school, work, relationships, and community.” A Tarrant Foundation-funded documentary on the topic, Gone Guys, has been screening around state this summer.
The Tarrants also directed much of their giving to the Vermont universities that helped him get his start. The Tarrant Recreation Center at St. Michael’s College honors his parents. The couple gave $15 million to University of Vermont to help fund a new athletics complex — the largest capital gift in the public university’s history. UVM plans to name the new men’s and women’s basketball fieldhouse in their honor. But rising project costs have left the new complex largely stalled.
Rich Tarrant Jr. said his father made gifts throughout his life to help underprivileged kids, even before his big payday with IDX.
“It’s always been a big part of his belief structure,” his son said. “You have to give back.”
Several other buildings could bear Tarrant’s name, but he chose to honor others with his contributions, the foundation’s executive director, Lauran A. Curry, said.
He led a 2006 campaign to create a community center in Winooski, then named it after longtime residents Dr. Robert E. and Shirley A. O’Brien. Later, Tarrant named a floor in a new hospital building at UVM Medical Center after hospital volunteers Bonnie and Allen Martin.
“Much of his giving was done quietly,” Curry said, “and often in celebration of other people.”