OBITUARY - ED EFFRAT

Ed Effrat served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1946.  In 1948 he received his B.S. degree from the University of Michigan, later attending the graduate School of Business Administration of New York University.  In 1948 he joined Johnson & Higgins as a trainee in the average adjusting department, becoming a junior member of this Association in 1950 and a full member in 1952.  Ed ultimately became the manager of the adjusting department at Johnson & Higgins and subsequently moved to Shipowners Claims Bureau with his department in 1989.  He retired from there in 1994.

 Ed served as a member of the Association’s Advisory Committee on Rules of Practice and the Executive Committee, of which he was chairman in 1974/1975.  He was chairman of this association in 1980.

 Ed passed away on May 18, 2007 and is survived by his wife, Florence, 3 children and 3 grandchildren.

OBITUARY - GERALD E. MEEHAN (1933-2007)

We have received news of the death of former Full Member Gerry Meehan on August 17, 2007 at the age of 74 in Bethpage, Long Island, New York.  He is survived by his wife, Ann, and four daughters.  Gerry became a member of The Association of Average Adjusters in 1959, and worked as an Average Adjuster at Frank B. Hall.  His colleagues fondly remember Gerry as always willing to give advice, and share his knowledge, experience and expertise with juniors training to be Average Adjusters.  His passing is a great loss to our industry.

Gerry's former colleagues Richard Carney and Allan Jann have offered these remembrances:

OBITUARY - CHARLES F. KILLIAN

Charlie Killian passed away on June 23rd, 2007 in Sacramento, CA at the age of 73.  He had been a member of the Association since 1960 and became a Full Member in 1963.  A 1957 graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, New York, he served as a deck officer on U.S. flagged merchant vessels.  In 1958, he came ashore and commenced training as a junior Average Adjuster with Johnson & Higgins in New York, with whom he served until 1961, when he joined the John F. Curry Agency.

In 1966, he rejoined Johnson & Higgins as a Vice President and relocated to San Francisco, bringing his wife and four young children.  He continued in their average adjusting department until 1980, when he became Marine and Aviation Insurance Broker, Account Manager, Unit Manager, and Training Coordinator.

 Leaving J&H in 1994, Charlie joined Jordan Harrison Insurance Brokers as an insurance broker and average adjuster and remained active on a consulting basis through 2006. 

 Mr. Killian was highly respected by his peers during a career that spanned 45 years. 

OBITUARY - CHARLES B. ACHUFF  1933-2007

The Executive Committee has received the sad news of the death in Philadelphia on February 27th, 2007, of Full Member Charlie Achuff, who joined this Association in 1961. 

Charles B. “Charlie “ Achuff was born in Philadelphia in 1934.  After graduating from Collingdale High School, he immediately began a long career in the insurance industry when he started working for Reliance Insurance Company.  He later embarked on his long association with H.C. Knight, an Insurance Broking and Average Adjusting firm. Charlie became a partner in the firm in 1965.

 In 1988, Charlie became the sole Owner of the firm when he bought out his partner. During his years with H.C. Knight, his main account was Keystone Shipping.  In 1990, H.C. Knight merged with the firm of Sedgwick James of Pennsylvania, Inc.  After the merger, Charlie continued to service the account of Keystone Shipping to whom he provided more the 50 years of service over his working career.  In 1998, Keystone Shipping transferred its account to Aon Risk Services.  Subsequently, Charlie became a valued Aon employee and so remained until his passing.

Charlie was very active in his Church and community.  He served as a deacon, elder, trustee, Sunday school teacher and endowment treasurer for the Tully Memorial Presbyterian Church in Sharon Hall.  He became a full member of the Association of Average Adjusters of the United States in 1961 and regularly attended the annual business meeting and dinner up until his passing away.  He was also proud that he was a non lawyer member of the Maritime Law Association the United States and regularly attended their annual dinner and associated events.

OBITUARY - KERMIT E. POLING  1933-2006

Kurt Poling passed away on November 2, 2006 at the age of 73 in Parma, Ohio. Kermit became a member of The Association of Average Adjusters in 1963, and was employed as an Average Adjusters at Johnson & Higgins.  He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, and was a member of the American Legion Post 627 and the Ancient Mariners.  He is survived by his wife, Rita, and two sons.

OBITUARY - JOHN CANTELLO  1924-2006

Sad news reached us from Canada of the passing just before Christmas, 2006, of Honorary Member John Cantello.  Tim Stradling writes:

John Cantello was born and educated in England.  He served with the Allied Forces in World War II - when he drove a tank in North Africa.  John trained as an Average Adjuster with the UK firm Burden & Clark; he also worked as an insurance broker with Swan & Everett.  In 1961 John and his family left the UK for Canada and he joined the Montreal office of Osborn & Lange Limited - the premier Canadian firm of marine Insurance Brokers and Average Adjusters handling many of the large Canadian Great Lakes fleets.

John, along with several other adjusters then practicing in Canada, was largely instrumental in forming the Association of Average Adjusters of Canada in 1966 - the first meeting of this new body being held in Montreal in March 1967.  John was always extremely active within the Canadian Association, serving as its Chairman in 1972 and again in 1989. 

John was keenly interested in maritime law and joined the Canadian Maritime Law Association, serving as their Secretary/Treasurer for many years.  

In his 60's, and at a time when most of us would be thinking about retirement, John obtained a Bachelors degree (with honors) in modern history from Montreal's Concordia University.  John became a Foreign Associate of the Association of Average Adjusters of the United States shortly after arriving in Canada and attended every one of that organization's meetings/dinners in New York for so many years that, in recognition, the US Association made him their first Honorary Member in 1996 - soon to be followed by Ray Hicks, with whom John had worked extensively during the latter's many years of service at the American Hull Insurance Syndicate until retirement. 

John maintained his contacts with the London Insurance Market and joined the UK Association of Average Adjusters as an annual subscriber and enjoyed attending many of their meetings and dinners held in London in May of each year.  Along with other Average Adjusters and marine lawyers, John played a significant role as part of the Canadian Maritime Law Association's delegations in the revisions to the York Antwerp Rules in Hamburg in 1974 and again in 1994 in Sydney.

John died peacefully at his home in Pointe Claire, Quebec, on December 22nd 2006 surrounded by his family members.  He will be sorely missed by all his many friends and contacts in the international business of marine insurance and average adjusting. 

His passing truly does mark the end of an era.  Rest in peace, my friend.