To Our Valued Friends and Agents: Sunday night, March 28th, my Mom passed away in her sleep. She was almost 99 years of age and loved so dearly by so many friends and family. She lived in an assisted living facility for the past 12 years, and even though she was surrounded by the most caring and devoted nurses and staff, she had dementia and Alzheimer’s. My Mother was a very special lady, so loving and dedicated to her children, her husband, her family and her endless friends. One might say at almost age 99, her death shouldn’t have come as a surprise or a shock to me. But when I received the call from my sister that she was gone, not only was I both shocked and surprised, I cried uncontrollably. Two days later, being in the life insurance business for so long, my thoughts turned from the passing of a 99 year old lady with severe dementia, to the 41 year old agent of ours who dove into his pool on a Summer afternoon three years ago. After he finished barbecuing the burgers and hot dogs, Walter dove into his swimming pool while his wife and 2 children anxiously waited for him to play volleyball. Unfortunately, Walter misjudged the depth of the pool and dove into the shallow end and broke his spine, neck and back and died instantly in front of his family. To this day, Walter’s wife periodically comes into our office and thanks us for insisting that Walter increase his life insurance amount to $1,000,000. And my mind races to the first sale I made in 1971 to Bob and Joan. I think of how that $50,000 policy we sold to Bob 50 years ago (worth approximately $500,000 today), enabled Joan to raise the girls in the same house they were born in and play with their girlfriends in the same neighborhood they grew up in. I think of how much good life insurance does for the loved ones of someone who dies unexpectedly at a very young age. In reality, I was expecting that call from my sister. But when life insurance is so extremely important and valuable, it is paid to beneficiaries who don’t expect to lose a loved one, but do. When everyone’s hand is out to collect money from a beneficiary, your hand is out delivering it and enabling families to stay together as best as possible. Please never forget what you do for humanity. I know I never have, and after 50 years, I’m very certain I never will. God Bless you Mom, and thank you for everything you did for us, and thank you all.
