Michael B. Epstein ’71

Mike died Jan. 6, 2011, in Chicago, soon after contracting a rare form of cancer.

He came to Princeton from Elmira, N.Y., where he attended Elmira Free Academy. Mike was a philosophy major and ate independently after leaving Colonial Club, where he met his wife, Carol Obertubbesing ’73. His father was Herbert Epstein ’40.

Mike joined insurance giant Johnson & Higgins in Boston in 1974. He transferred to Chicago in 1989, and stayed with J&H until 1997, when it was bought by Marsh Inc. He worked for Marsh for three years, then two years with Arthur Andersen. At the time of his death, he was working for Willis, another worldwide insurance firm.

Mike and Carol had an apartment in Chicago and a house in Woodstock, Ill. He was a trustee of the Sherwood Conservatory of Music in Chicago, which focuses on economically deprived students, and belonged to the Princeton Club of Chicago.  

Carol says that many of Mike’s favorite memories stemmed from vacations at the family summer cottage on Lake Keuka, N.Y.

Mike was a Reunions regular; he and Carol missed only two reunions after his graduation.  

Besides Carol, he is survived by his sister, Kate Baker; his mother, Doris Epstein; and his brother-in-law, Mark Thomsen. To them, the class extends deepest sympathy.