Tampa, Florida – Alan M. Stein was born on March 27, 1937 in Brooklyn, N.Y, to Bella Alterman and Frank Stein and passed away from congestive heart failure on January 23, 2023 at the Melech Hospice House in Temple Terrace, Florida.
Alan enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served as an infantryman in Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force Atlantic based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina from 1956-1958. He obtained his Bachelors of Arts and Masters Degrees in Business Administration from The City College in New York. He married his wife, Rochelle “Shelly” Hilsberg, on June 17, 1961 and they shared 57 happy years together.
Alan and Shelly made their first home in Flushing, New York and then they moved to Plainview, New York to raise their two children. Alan worked for Equitable Life Insurance Company (now CIGNA) for 36 years starting as a claims examiner in New Yok City and retiring as Vice President of Operations in Bethpage, New York.
Alan was the first man in Long Island who regularly rode a moped to work…even in the pouring rain… and in the winter. He loved to go cross country skiing at Bethpage State Park and playing racquetball with his friends. While he loved the beauty of Long Island, he was not a fan of the cold temperatures or shoveling snow in the winter. They moved to Davie, Florida where they lived for 34 years and finally relocated to Tampa, Florida. Dad loved to go on cruises and he often joked that he never saw a buffet line that he didn’t like. He also loved to go to the gym and spent countless hours in the sauna and swimming in the pool.
Alan’s greatest love, outside his friends and family, was following the stock market. For hours on end, he enjoyed tracking the fundamentals — company earnings, dividends, price to earnings ratios, etc. In the end, he came to understand the stock market was just a huge experiment in human behavior and emotions and that eventually, every investor feels the market’s wrath. He was fascinated by the day-to-day continuum of panic, fear, greed and euphoria, and trying to anticipate where and when the mood would shift from one to the other.
In 2010, Alan and Rochelle were selected as the U.S. Navy's nominees for the Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher Distinguished Civilian Humanitarian Award, an award that recognizes an individual or organization that has demonstrated exceptional patriotism and humanitarian concern for members of the armed forces and their families. The Steins worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life of military personnel by sending care packages to service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and raised more than $50,000 for military-focused projects and charitable programs. Together, they mailed more than a thousand boxes of books to U.S. and NATO Navy ships and submarines, the U.S. Coast Guard, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Bethesda Navy Medical Center and three Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs). Additionally, through the Partner in Education program, they sponsored a holiday card drive from elementary school students to two naval ships and an e-mail exchange program between students and Sailors on board USS BATAAN (LHD 5). Alan was extremely proud of his military service, loved to celebrate the USMC’s birthday, and always enjoyed meeting and chatting with fellow Marines.
In January 2018, Dad met Carmen Reyes of Tampa, Florida. They spent the next five years dining out, traveling, and watching movies together. Dad was incredibly proud of his children and grandchildren. His laughter, love, and reliability will be greatly missed.
Alan is survived by his sons Larry and David, daughters-in-law Robin and Heather, and grandchildren Ariel and Alex.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Bella Stein, and his sister, Marilyn Koplik.
Alan will be interred in a mausoleum crypt at Myrtle Hill Memorial Park in Tampa, Florida.
In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made in Alan’s name to Semper Fi & America’s Fund which cares for our nation’s critically wounded, ill, and injured service members, veterans, and military family members.
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