Founder of Builder's Supply Dies

Founder of Builder's Supply Dies

Maurice Udes, the owner of what was Omaha's largest construction company suppliers, died Nov. 15 at the age of 83. Services were held Nov. 17 at Temple Israel with burial in Temple Israel Cemetery.

Udes was originally from Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He was an avid football fan, tennis player and sometimes enjoyed scuba diving.

However he was best known for his prowess on the ballroom dancing floor. He and his wife, Joan, were winners of many contests. They even built a dance floor in their homes. His circle of Omaha dance friends often remarked, "It's like a dance club in the basement!"

He was a leader, even in college, when he won a speech contest while attending Purdue University. He graduated with a degree in electrical engineering and went to serve three years in the Army Field Artilery during World War II.

After the war, he took a job with Lyon Metal Products in Omaha, However, the demand for housing in Omaha was great and materials were hard to get. He said, "finding building materials was more of an acquisition contest than a sales contest."

In 1951, Udes started Builder's Supply in an old coal yard site at 24th and Fort Streets. The company first sold lumber and later branched out into millwork. He   began the company with four employees and a used truck. In 1977, they advertised as Nebraska's largest building materials dealer and, said Udes, "We have marketing figures to prove it!"

When be began his own buisness, he said that he would never dwell on fears becase all he could ever see in life were opportunities. He pledged that he would get right out on the job with the contractors--rather than dropping off the materials at the job site.

By 1986, the company had moved to 72nd and F Streets where they were in a better position to serve the contractors in West Omaha. They had over 200 employees on the payroll. At that time, they shared land with its Security Windows division, a wood and aluminum manufacturing company. This gave them flexibility to give the contractors what they needed.

Also at that time, emphasis on "do-it-yourself" customers was beginning and Builders Supply was a forerunner in that field. Udes always said that seizing opportunities was his key to success. Designing and manufacturing his own products helped Udes to survive the 1973-74 business recession in Omaha. He said, "Diversification and being in the manufacturing business helped us over the recession because the retail business picked up."

By manufacturing its own products, Builders Supply was able to give a price advantage. He said, "Manufacturing also gives us the advantage of flexibility because, when business is brisk, it's difficult for a dealer to maintain an adequate inventory of certain items."

In 1990, Maury and Joan Udes gave a gift of $200,000 to help the resettlement of Soviet Jews. Their gift to the "Passage of Freedom Fund" was his way of repaying an old debt. He said at the time, "My dad was born in Russia He was six months old when my grandparents immigrated to the United States and someone had to help him get here. I know that this is something that my father and grandfather would have wanted me to do."

Udes recalled that his father had told him of the conditions in Eastern Europe. "Our people were denied educational opportunities and there was prejudice against them because they were Jewish. It was never considered illegal to beat a Jew," he explained then.

The Udes' gift was used to cover basic necessities such as apartment rental, utilities, furniture, kitchen equipment, linens, food, bus fare and daycare for young children. He said, "Freedom is important, necessary and a high priority. I have a wonderful sense of satisfaction!" At the time of the gift, he hoped that at least one member of the Russian families would be employed.

In 2001, Udes was inducted into the Omaha Business Hall of Fame. Proceeds from the dinner honoring the inductees were donated to the Durham Western Heritage Museum and provided funds for Junior Achievement of the Midlands Inc., the Omaha business Hall of Fame Scholarship Foundation and Omaha 2000. At the dinner Udes was cited for his contributions through the Metropolitan Omaha Builders Association.

"Maury had the foresight to realize that his generation needed to take that extra step to endow the future of the Omaha Jewish community," noted Marty Ricks, Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. "In 1995, he and Joan established a very significant PACE (Perpetual Annual Endowment Fund). With this fund, their annual campaign pledge will continue forever.

"Maury realized this was the most meaningful way to help the Jewish community--by letting the leaders determine through the Federation budget and allocation process, how the income from their endowment should be spent every year."

Udes also funded a permanent exhibit at the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society, entitled, "Heroine of the Holocaust," which features Udes' aunt who stayed behind in Germany to protect a destitute child.

In addition to his wife, Joan, Udes is survived by daughters, Barbara Shaw and Diane Udes; daughter and son-in-law, Lynne and John Scott; stepdaughters, Janet Backus of Las Vegas, NV, JoEllen Eugenides of Warner, NH, Barbara Pathak, Andover, MA; step-daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Mark Cannon of Kenilworth, IL; 15 grandchildren, Teri Bader, Jon Shaw, Sonja, Sarah, and Julia Scott, Ryan, Andrea, Christopher, Michelle and Keith Cannon, Nevin Pathak, Kyle Backus, Joel, Jenna and Alicia Eugenides; two great-grandchildren.

Memorials to Temple Israel, the Alzheimers Association, or the American Lung Association.