In Memoriam:Roy Pasini

Roy Pasini, former publisher of Underwriters’ Report, has died.

Pasini, with some 40 years experience, was known throughout the industry as the dean of insurance journalism. Pasini operated one of the leading insurance trade magazines on the West Coast. According to the IBA West, Pasini also was beloved by its members for his parody magazine, Undertakers’ Retort, which poked fun at the association’s leadership during the annual convention. In 1973, he was awarded IBA West’s Ramsden-Sullivan, the highest award bestowed for outstanding professional service to the Independent Agency System and the industry overall.

“Roy was a remarkable person,” said Bill Williams, who has been Pasini’s friend since the early 1950s and worked with him on Underwriters’ Report. “He used to talk with company presidents and they learned they could trust him with every confidence. I was just almost in awe of Roy’s handling and his capability to be objective and yet be sarcastic as hell when he thought an individual or industry was doing something that didn’t make sense. When I say that, it was already surrounded by a sense of humor.

“Over the years, I became close friends with him and Barbara (his wife),” Williams added. “All of us are really grieving.”

Pasini is survived by his wife, Barbara, and his four sons, Mike, Dan, John and Bill and his six grandchildren.

Donations may be made to UC Berkeley Foundation for the Roy Pasini Endowment, 121 Northgate Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720 and/or St. Ignatius Church, 650 Parker Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94118.

Send notes to the family to: Mrs. Roy Pasini (Barbara), 52 Westpark Drive, Daly City, CA 94015.