OBITUARY. NELLAS C. BLACK Louts BUFFLER WILLIAM H. BURHOP WILLIAM J. GRAHAM H. PIERSON HAMMOND

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1 156 OBITUARY NELLAS C. BLACK Louts BUFFLER WILLIAM H. BURHOP WILLIAM J. GRAHAM H. PIERSON HAMMOND NELLAS C. BLACK NeIlas C. Black died December 24, 1962 in a disastrous fire in his home which was also responsible for the death of his beloved wife, Celeste. This very tragic occurrence saddened the hearts of their many friends. He was born in Carroll County, Maryland, March 17, 1887, and shortly thereafter moved to the City of Baltimore where he resided for the remainder of his life. He attended Baltimore City College and Sheldon Science and Industrial Institute. In 1903 Nellas began his career with the Maryland Casualty Company, as an office boy. He served in the Auditing Department and later was placed in charge of the Bureau of Payroll Audits. He also spent some time in the Claim Disbursement Department. In 1919 he was appointed Statistician and held that position, with distinction, until his retirement on July 1, 1957, after 54 years of continuous and meritorious service. Having served in the Mexican War, Mr. Black re-entered the service during World War I as a First Lieutenant in the Fourth Maryland Infantry. He received his training at Camp McClellan, Alabama and was subsequently assigned to the 110th Field Artillery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma where he later became Personnel Adjutant. In June 1918 he went overseas as Captain. Nellas Black became an Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society on November 17, He made numerous contributions to the Society during his long association. Mr. Black is survived by one daughter, Mrs. John R. Richards of Metairie, Louisiana. LOUIS BUFFLER Louis Bufller, an Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society since 1915, died July 19, 1963, at the age of 71 in Bethany Deaconess Hospital in Brooklyn.

2 oarrcarv 157 Although he started his career as an Actuarial Clerk with the New York Life Insurance Co. in 1907, by the time he joined the Society in 1915, he had already left the actuarial field. He was Manager of the Employers Mutual Liability Insurance Company and District Manager of the Utica Mutual Insurance Company. Most recently, he was Director of the Underwriting Department of The State Insurance Fund of New York and, subsequently, Underwriting Consultant, a post from which he retired in March As a member of the Classification and Rating Committee of the New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board from 1915, he contributed substantially to the establishment of the underwriting principles underlying present Workmen's Compensation insurance ratemaking. Mr. Buffller was a founder of the American Association of State Compensation Insurance Funds, its first Secretary-Treasurer and later, its President. At the time of his death he was President emeritus. As Great Incohonee, he was national head of the Improved Order of Red Men of the United States of America. He was past Grand Knight of Knickerbocker Council No. 221, Knights of Columbus, and a member of the Bishop Molloy Retreat League. He is survived by his widow Margaret Werking Buffler, a daughter, Mrs. Helene Block, and one granddaughter. WILLIAM H. BURHOP William H. Burhop, a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society since 1917, died October 11, 1963, at the age of 74, in Wausau, Wisconsin. A native of Wisconsin, he was born in Sheboygan County April 7, After graduating from the University of Wisconsin School of Commerce in 1913 with an A. B. degree, he was a member of the staff of the Wisconsin Industrial Commission until 1917, when he transferred to the Wisconsin Insurance Department and was placed in charge of workmen's compensation rate regulation. He resigned July 15, to become an actuary for the Employers Mutual Liability Insurance Company of Wisconsin. He advanced through various executive offices, serving as president of the firm for eight years after which he became chairman of the board in He retired as a company employee in March 1961, but continued as chairman of the board. He served as a director of the American Mutual Reinsurance Company, the Protection Mutual Fire Insurance Company, the Wisconsin Valley Trust Company of Wausau, and the First American State Bank in Wausau. Mr. Burhop took an active role in insurance associations both as a director and committee member and was president of the American Mutual Insurance Alliance in and of the National Association of Mutual Casualty Companies in He was also a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, a professional commerce fraternity.

3 58 OBITUARY Active in numerous civic and service groups, Mr. Burhop was a past president of both the Wisconsin State Chamber of Commerce and the Wausau Area Chamber of Commerce, a Mason and Shriner, and a deacon, elder, and chairman of the board of trustees of the First Presbyterian Church. He also was a director of Woodson YMCA, a trustee of the Wausau YWCA, and served as chairman of a campaign of the former Wausau Community Chest. A charter member and past president of the Wausau Kiwanis Club, he served a term as division governor and received the Legion of Honor award of Kiwanis International in Mr. Burhop received an Award of Merit from the late president Conrad Elvehjem of the University of Wisconsin in 1961 in "commendation for his outstanding personal contribution to the field of workmen's compensation," on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of workmen's compensation in the United States. A scholarship, the W. H. Burhop Award, was established at the University of Wisconsin. It has been given annually to an outstanding graduate student in the field of insurance or actuarial science. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Bernardine C. Burhop; a daughter, Mrs. E. E. Schneider, Wausau; and four grandchildren. Also surviving are three sisters, all of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. WILLIAM J. GRAHAM William J. Graham, long a prominent actuary and outstanding insurance executive, died February 11, 1963, in Southside Hospital, Bay Shore, Long Island, at the age of 85. Mr. Graham's name became almost synonymous with the development of group insurance during the first half of the century. He was frequently referred to as the, "Father of Group Insurance," for he played a key part in the 1911 discussions with the Montgomery Ward Company which led to the first of the modern forms of group insurance. From that point on, Mr. Graham crusaded for the use of group insurance in industry and commerce, and he was personally responsible for much of its spectacular growth and enlargement into the fields of annuities and health. Mr. Graham was born in Louisville, Kentucky, September 23, A graduate of Xavier College in Louisville, he also held an M.A. from St. Francis Xavier College in New York. In 1938 he was awarded an honorary LL.D. from Hobart College. His mathematical aptitude early led him into the actuarial field. He became an Associate of the Actuarial Society of America at 21, and four years later became a Fellow. Later, he became a Charter Member of the Casu.alty Actuarial Society and an Associate of the British Institute of Actuaries. Mr. Graham started his insurance career as an actuary with the Sun Life Insurance Company of America (Louisville) in 1898, and from 1902 to 1905 he served on the actuarial staff of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.

4 OBITUARY 159 In 1905 his career gained considerable momentum through the service he rendered as consulting actuary (jointly with S. Herbert Wolfe) to the investigation of the life insurance companies of New York conducted by a group of state insurance departments. Almost simultaneously, he was invited to help reorganize the Northwestern National Life Insurance Company, which he served'as a vice-president, actuary, and director from 1905 to Mr. Graham joined the Equitable as western superintendent of agencies in When the Equitable established a Group Insurance Department the following year, he was made its superintendent. He thereafter rapidly rose, becoming vice-president in He was elected a member of the Equitable's Board of Directors in 1937 and given charge of all agency activities, both group and ordinary. After more than 37 years of service with the Equitable, he retired on June 30, 1948, continuing, however, to serve on Equitablc's Board until December 31, Among Mr. Graham's innumerable writings was an insurance bestseller entitled The Romance oj Li[e Insurance. Appearing first as a series of articles in the 1908 issues of The World Today, it told a constructive story of life insurance which was much needed in those post-investigation days. Mr. Graham's broad human sympathies caused his interests to spread far beyond his employment and even beyond the insurance field. He headed the Insurance Institute of America and served as vice-president of the New York Chamber of Commerce; president of the American Management Association (which he helped to found); director of the American Arbitration Association; chairman of the Group Association; member of the Insurance Committee of the United States Chamber of Commerce; governor of the National Industrial Conference Board; and a member of the New York Southern Society. His New York club memberships included the Links, Nassau County, and the Pilgrims. He was also a member of the Pendennis Club in Louisville; the Royal Societies in London, England; and the Kentuckians. An imaginative, courageous, and dedicated master builder, Mr. Graham has left an indelible imprint not only on the insurance world, but on the social and economic life of our country. A hard taskmaster, he commanded and enjoyed great admiration, respect, and loyalty on all sides. His engaging, attractive personality, and his endless drive and enthusiasm won him high praise not only as an expert technician but as one of the best all-round salesmen in the insurance world. Mr. Graham is survived by a daughter, Mrs. William S. Adams, Jr., and four grandchildren. H. PIERSON HAMMOND H. Pierson Hammond, retired Actuary of the Life Actuarial Department of The Travelers Insurance Company and a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society, died in Hartford, Connecticut, April 10, 1963.

5 160 OBITUARY He was born in Troy, New York, November I, He graduated from Boys' High School, Brooklyn, New York, and in 1900 from Williams College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He immediately entered the Actuary's Department of the Mutual Lithe Insurance Company of New York. In 1908 he became Actuary of the Connecticut Insurance Department. This move set the course of his future career and resulted in his becoming'an authority on financial statements of insurance companies in both personal and property lines. In 1919 he joined The Travelers Insurance Company as Assistant Actuary of the Life Actuarial Department and in ]930 was made Actuary, which position he held until his retirement in He was for thirty-eight years a member of the Committee on Uniform Blanks of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and presented several papers to that body. He also served for many years as Actuary of the Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board of the Northern Baptist Convention, continuing in this position for several years after his retirement from The Travelers. He was an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, and a member of the American Statistical Association. He was a member of the First Baptist Church of West Hartford, Connecticut, and of the Sons of the American Revolution. His wife, Jennie Seymour Hammond, died in In his leisure time, Pierson Hammond was intensely interested in football, and for many years spent part of his vacation watching the games and practice sessions of the Williams teams. His continuing close association with his college resulted in a number of Williams graduates entering the actuarial profession. His forceful manner of expression gave him a first appearance of gruffness, but on continued acquaintance he was found to be highly sympathetic to the problems of others and to be possessed of a fine sense of humor. He served ably both the insurance business and his church.