Monday, June 10, 2019

No. 316: John F. X. Mannion—A Memorial Tribute

John F. X. Mannion
John F. X. "Jack" Mannion, of Syracuse, New York, died on May 25, 2019, at age 86. He served for many years as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Unity Mutual Life Insurance Company, which was based in Syracuse.

Jack was born in the Bronx on December 6, 1932, during the Great Depression. He graduated at the top of his class at All Hollows High School. He then attended the University of Notre Dame, where he enrolled in the Air Force ROTC program. He was a lifelong supporter of both All Hollows and Notre Dame. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. After his discharge with the rank of captain, he started his insurance career as an agent. Jack's wife, Stephanie Miner, served as Mayor of Syracuse from 2010 to 2018.

Although Jack and I were fellow Syracusans, we never met face to face. I left Syracuse in 1958 and returned only for personal family visits and later for the 50th reunion of my high school class. However, Jack and I became good friends not long after I started publishing The Insurance Forum, my monthly newsletter. Whenever he saw an article there that intrigued him, he would write or call to talk about it. I always enjoyed our discussions because they helped me understand the viewpoint of a prominent practitioner in the business.

My favorite personal story about Jack was a letter from him not long after we became acquainted. He told me that, whenever he received an envelope showing my return address, he would open it with trepidation. He explained he was fearful that I was considering an article critical of his company. I assured him that, if I ever considered an article about his company, critical or not, he would hear about it from me in advance and by telephone rather than by letter.

 Our final exchange was less than a year ago, when Jack sent me an email commending me on a particular item I had just posted on my blog.  I thanked him and said his kind words meant a lot to me.

 Jack was a wonderful person, a strong supporter of my work, and a good friend. I will miss him greatly.

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