Edward H. Friend ’50

Ted, a groundbreaking actuary, died of natural causes March 5, 2019, in Boca Raton, Fla.

Coming to Princeton from East Orange (N.J.) High School, he was awarded the Brown Prize in Mathematics, elected to Phi Bata Kappa, and graduated with high honors in mathematics. He belonged to Campus.

He served in the Navy for three years as a lieutenant junior grade and cryptanalyst before embarking on a distinguished actuarial career. He founded Edward H. Friend and Co. in 1961. He later sold it and in 1990 opened EFI Actuaries, the first actuarial and benefit consulting firm dedicated to the public sector. His work aided millions of public employees. Notably, he was lauded as the principal actuary for the California Public Employees Retirement System and for the Massachusetts Teachers Retirement System.

He served as president of the Conference of Actuaries in Public Practice and on the board of governors for the Society of Actuaries. With an associate he received the first U.S. patent on asset-allocation optimization, a valuable tool for risk assessment when crafting pension plans.

Ted is survived by his first wife, Patricia; their children, Amy, Thomas, Robert, and Jennifer; 10 grandchildren; and his second wife, Jane. His third wife, Eleanor, predeceased him.