As an estate planner for 61 years, Robert B. Nathan always stressed the importance of family, honesty and integrity. He was also diligent in his service to the Anti-Defamation League.
But that doesn’t mean he was stodgy. During an early-1960s family trip to Europe, he allowed his two daughters to bring back what may have been the first bikinis ever seen in Highland Park. Although modest by today’s standards, the swimwear was fairly risque back then.
Neighbors were shocked, and said so. Mr. Nathan thought the whole thing was very funny, said his daughter Beth Russ. When she visited him last month, the two of them had a good laugh over the poolside scandal.
Mr. Nathan, 84, died Saturday, Feb. 16, at Manor Care in Palm Desert, Calif., of complications from surgery. He and his wife of 62 years, Shirley, lived in Highland Park but spent several months a year in California.
A 1937 graduate of Northwestern University, Mr. Nathan was married and had a son and a job with Equitable Life Assurance Society when World War II erupted. He served in the Army in medical administration, mostly in California and Washington, his family said.
After the Army he went back to Equitable and worked there for the rest of his life through his own company, Robert B. Nathan Associates. He was named national honor agent at Equitable in 1989 and was a life member of the company’s Hall of Fame and Million Dollar Roundtable.
At the time of his death, Mr. Nathan was still working in the insurance industry.
“He truly loved what he did,” his daughter said. “Tennis, charities, insurance and family were the four things that really made up my father.”
Mr. Nathan was active in the Greater Chicago/Upper Midwest chapter of the Anti-Defamation League. He served as honorary chairman of the regional board and honorary vice chairman of the national organization.
“Bob Nathan’s decades of service to the ADL will never be forgotten. His vision and judgment will be missed by this organization,” said Richard S. Hirschhaut, regional director.
Besides his wife and daughter, survivors include a son, Richard; another daughter, Jill Hyman; and six grandchildren. A memorial service will be scheduled at a later date.
