08/11/2026
Next up in our series of 40 Faces of the Tulsa Day Center...
Dave Hentschel | Friend and Visionary
Some people shape an organization through a title or a position. Dave Hentschel shaped the Tulsa Day Center through a decades-long friendship, an unwavering commitment to service, and one inspired idea that sparked one of our favorite events.
Dave’s connection to the Tulsa Day Center began through his relationship with Henry Zarrow, which took root in the mid-1960s, long before there was a building, a board, or even a name for what would become TDC. In those early days, the organization operated out of Henry's warehouses and pipe storage buildings, a humble setting that Dave witnessed firsthand. It was there that an encounter involving Anne Zarrow took place, sparking the vision for the original facility that has since grown into the extraordinary resource the Tulsa Day Center is today.
Those who know Dave describe him as someone who takes scripture seriously. He’s a man who genuinely believes that people matter because they matter to God, and he has spent his life acting accordingly. He is the kind of person that nobody has ever met without liking. Dave was always right alongside Henry Zarrow, supporting Tulsa Day Center as the organization began to develop. There is a story that captures both men perfectly: Dave and Henry Zarrow, noticing the facility was running low on socks, made a trip to Walmart together and filled their basket with tube socks, sweatshirts, gloves, and underwear. Word has it the Walmart manager came down the aisle to figure out what was going on, and ended up pitching in to help! For many years after we lost Henry, Dave continued his Walmart tradition, blessing hundreds of clients with his generous spirit.
The Heart of Henry dinner, which was Tulsa Day Center’s first real major fundraiser, was Dave’s inspired idea, created to honor the spirit of philanthropy that Henry and Anne Zarrow embodied so beautifully. That event laid the foundations for the fundraising tradition we continue today.
Dave has witnessed the full arc of our growth — from the concrete floors of a warehouse to the thriving, comprehensive facility we now have. Those who have had the privilege of knowing him say his legacy reaches far beyond what he has given to one organization. He has made the people around him better, inspiring them to care more, give more, and show up more fully for their neighbors. He is, as those closest to him put it simply, “the real deal.” 💙
