Alan died Jan. 2, 2008, at home in Vero Beach, Fla. He prepared for Princeton at Choate, majored in psychology, was a member of Sigma Xi, joined Campus Club, and roomed with William Dwyer ’42.
During World War II, he served in the Merchant Marine. After his service, Alan moved to Bellaire, Texas, where he started his own business, South Ports Forwarding Co., later merging it with Behring International and growing it to more than 100 offices around the world. At one point, he opened an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and lived there for three years.
In 1982 he sold Behring and bought a 46-foot CSY, Whistler, going into commercial fishing in the Caribbean.
Alan moved to Nantucket year-round (although wintering in Vero Beach, Fla.), where he had spent most summers of his life. He contributed to the Nantucket Sailing Community by reviving the Rainbow fleet and the Indian class of sailboats. He was
co-founder and president of Nantucket Community Sailing, which each year teaches more than 700 children how to sail.
Predeceased by his wife of 54 years, Virginia Sharp Newhouse, he is survived by his second wife, Sondra Cross Newhouse; his four children, Nancy, Gerry, Deborah Dunham, and Christopher; four grandchildren; stepchildren Tiffany Vittorini, Holly Hanlon, and Daphne Borowski Muller; and five step-grandchildren.