COLUMBUS, Ga., July 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Paul S. Amos, who with his two brothers founded
Aflac Incorporated nearly six decades ago, passed away late
Wednesday night after a lengthy illness. He was 88 years old.
Amos, who continued to make daily visits to Aflac's offices in
Columbus, Ga., and served as
Chairman Emeritus, was beloved by the insurer's more than 8,000
employees and 185,000 agents worldwide. He was known
affectionately throughout the company as "Mr. Paul."
Amos was raised in Enterprise,
Ala. and Milton, Fla. He
and his wife, the former Jean
Roberts, met in church when she was just 17 years old and
celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in October of last year.
The couple's only child, Daniel P.
Amos, is Aflac's current chairman and CEO.
During his long tenure at Aflac, Mr. Amos held numerous
positions, both at corporate headquarters and as a hands-on member
of the sales force. He served as state sales manager for
Alabama/West Florida, first vice president/director of
marketing, president, vice chairman and chairman. Although he
retired in 2001, he remained a familiar figure at Aflac and loved
to be among the employees and sales team members who continued the
company's legacy.
Amos' contributions to Aflac are too numerous to mention, but
among his greatest achievements was introducing the concept of
"worksite marketing," in which products are sold directly to
employees at companies through payroll deductions. Today, policies
sold at worksites throughout the nation account for 97 percent of
Aflac U.S. sales.
"My father was a consummate businessman who led with compassion
and dignity," said Dan Amos. "He was
a straight-shooter who believed in the simple tenets of honesty and
integrity. He was a gentleman, as well as a gentle man."
The Amos brothers founded Aflac in 1955 and, in its first year
of business, the company had 6,426 policyholders and $388,000 in assets. Today, it is a Fortune 500
company with more than $121 billion
in assets and insures more than 50 million people worldwide. Aflac
is the leading provider of supplemental insurance products and pays
cash directly to policyholders to use as needed.
In addition to helping build the world's largest supplemental
insurance company, Amos established a quiet history of philanthropy
and community service. Through anonymous donations and the
endowment of educational funds and scholarship programs, he and
Jean touched thousands of lives with major financial
commitments.
Their efforts included the Paul and Jean Amos Educational Fund
at Asbury Theological Seminary in
Wilmore, Ky.; the Paul S. Amos
Family Foundation at Columbus State
University in Columbus,
Ga.; the Scholarship Fund at Cumberland
College in Williamsburg,
Ky.; and many unheralded contributions to those in need.
Amos received an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from
Cumberland College in May
2001. Columbus State University honored him with an Honorary
Doctor of Humane Letters Degree in May 2002. In 2004, Amos
received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Asbury Theological Seminary.
Amos is survived by his wife, Jean; their son Daniel P. Amos and his wife Kathelen; two
grandchildren, Lauren Amos and her
husband Tyler Clayton, and
Paul S. Amos II and his wife,
Courtney; and four great-grandchildren, Dan
Amos, Mansell Amos, Knox Amos
and Eden Amos.
Funeral services will be held at St. Luke United Methodist
Church in Columbus, GA at
3:00 PM on Saturday, July 5th. It will be preceded by public
visitation beginning at 2:00 PM at
the St. Luke United Methodist Church Ministry Center. There will be
a private burial service following the funeral. In lieu of flowers,
however, the family asks that contributions in his memory be made
to the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorder Center in Atlanta or St. Luke United Methodist Church in
Columbus.
To view or download a video celebrating the life of Mr.
Paul S. Amos in MOV format please
click here.
To view or download in WMV format please click here.
About Aflac
When a policyholder gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits
fast. For more than 55 years, Aflac insurance policies have given
policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial
stress. In the United States,
Aflac is the number one provider of guaranteed-renewable insurance.
In Japan, Aflac is the number one
life insurance company in terms of individual policies in force.
Aflac individual and group insurance products provide protection to
more than 50 million people worldwide. For seven consecutive years,
Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere magazine as one of
the World's Most Ethical Companies. In 2013, FORTUNE magazine
recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in
America for the 15th consecutive year. Also, FORTUNE magazine
included Aflac on its list of Most Admired Companies for the 13th
time in 2013. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on
the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more
about Aflac, visit aflac.com or espanol.aflac.com.
Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of
Columbus and American Family Life
Assurance Company of New York.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140703/124347
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100423/CL92305LOGO
Media contact – Jon Sullivan,
706.573.7610 or jsullivan@aflac.com
Analyst and investor contact – Robin Y.
Wilkey, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667, FAX: 706.324.6330, or
rwilkey@aflac.com
SOURCE Aflac