In Memory of Alan Mark Emmer

Alan Mark Emmer, FSA, MAAA passed away on April 28, 2019 at the age of 69 in Flushing, NY after his battle with kidney failure. Alan was highly respected by all who knew him and was regarded as a dear friend/mentor by many. His death is a great loss to the actuarial world.

Alan was intelligent, amiable, unassuming and honest. He was also unconventional. Some might even say Alan was eccentric, which was his charm. Alan had a heart of gold.

Alan was born on December 15, 1949 in East New York, NY. Soon after, his family moved to Queens, NY, where he grew up and graduated from Bayside High School (Bayside, NY). Alan attended and graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics.

Alan joined Guardian Life Insurance Company right after RPI. He devoted his entire actuarial career there and retired in 2015. At Guardian Life Insurance Company, Alan worked in various areas and was well respected by both the management and his peers. Alan specially loved working with and developing the actuarial students and FSAs. He wanted each of them to do well. As long you showed effort and passion, Alan was all in on teaching you and making sure that you learned the fundamentals and how to be a better actuary.

Alan loved sports, mainly football and basketball. Alan was a die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan for over 60 years. He even travelled to London in 2013 to support his Steelers against the Vikings. Alan was very fond of the “Non-entity Bowl” at the Guardian summer picnics. Alan’s other sports favorite was the New York Knicks. Alan enjoyed the music from the 50s and 60s, but he loved his country music, specially Garth Brooks. He even married someone with the same birth date as Garth Brooks. In addition, Alan enjoyed reading (mainly history and current events), playing Bridge, Barbu and Scrabble, traveling and taking leisure walks in the parks.

Alan is survived by his wife, sister, brother, nephew, nieces, grandniece and his cat Rusty. Alan will be missed by all who knew him. He will be forever in our hearts. We miss you dearly Alan.