Roger Hull

James Roger Hull (November 17, 1907 – February 6, 1972) was an American insurance executive who spent his entire career with the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, becoming president in 1959 and chairman in 1967.

Early life

Hull was born in State College, Mississippi on November 17, 1907.[1] He was the son of Madge Cook (née Wilson) Hull and Dr. David Carlisle Hull, the President of Mississippi State University from 1920 to 1925.[2][3]

He earned an A.B. degree from Kentucky Wesleyan College, a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky, of which his father had been president from 1925 until his death in 1928.[1]

Career

In 1928, after considering graduate study at Harvard, Hull turned down an offer from "a relative to join him in the feed‐manufacturing business" and, instead, became a salesman for Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York in Meridian, Mississippi. He was an organizer of the first Mississippi Junior Chamber of Commerce, eventually becoming its president. He also served as president of the Meridian Chamber of Commerce, was a trustee of the city library and vice president of the Kiwanis.[1] In 1932, Hull was appointed district manager for MONY in Meridian and in 1935, he was made manager of the company's agency in Nashville. In 1938, he moved to New York as assistant superintendent of agencies,[4] before becoming executive vice president and a trustee in 1950.[5] In June 1959, he was named president and chief executive officer.[6] In 1969, he was named chairman and chief executive of Mutual Life while J. McCall Hughes became president.[7]

Hull was "credited with devising his company's program for the lifetime compensation of agents in an effort to encourage men to make careers as insurance salesmen."[1]

He was elected one of three public governors of the New York Stock Exchange in 1969,[8] and was chairman of the American College of Life Underwriters. He had also served as chairman of the Life Insurance Association of America, a director of the Million Dollar Round Table, Academy of Political Science, the Health Insurance Institute, the New York Better Business Bureau, chairman of the Religion in American Life program, a member of the Salvation Army New York advisory board, a trustee the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company,[9] a trustee of the United Presbyterian Foundation and chairman of Billy Graham's 1957 New York Crusade.[1]

Personal life

In 1932, Hull was married to Rosalie Paschal, a daughter of John Jones Paschal and Rosa Lee (née Price) Paschal. He was the father of one son and two daughters:[10]

  • James Roger Hull Jr. (1937–2022),[11] who served as minister of Broadway Presbyterian Church; he married Madelaine Judy Brown, a daughter of Dr. Harold Ogden Brown, in 1967.[12]
  • Rosemary Hull, who married David Morrill Mace, a son of Morrill Atwell Mace, in 1961.[13]
  • Elizabeth Paschal Hull (1941–2002), who married David Emerson Hall, a son of the Rev. Dr. Don Emerson Hall, in 1968.[14]

Hull, who lived in Darien, Connecticut, died of cancer on February 6, 1972, at the Stamford Hospital in Stamford, Connecticut. His funeral was held at the Noroton Presbyterian Church in Darien, where he was an elder.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Roger Hull, MONY Head, Dies; Led in Insurance Innovations". The New York Times. 7 February 1972. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  2. ^ Miller, Lucile Glenn (1975). Glenn and Kin: Descendents of James Glen of Hanover County, Virginia, 1717-1974. Panolian. pp. 113–114. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  3. ^ Hull, William Edgar (1964). Hull Families in the United States. Woodburn Print. Company. pp. 87–90. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  4. ^ "2 NAMED TO POSTS BY MUTUAL LIFE; Leigh Cruess and J.R. Hull as Vice Presidents Will Manage Selection and Agencies OTHER CHANGES LISTED Insurance Company Announces Selection of J.S. Myrick -- Transfers Also Made". The New York Times. 31 October 1941. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Hull Named Mutual Life Trustee". The New York Times. 29 June 1950. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Hull New Mutual Life President; Dawson Is Elevated to Chairman; OFFICERS NAMED FOR MUTUAL LIFE". The New York Times. 25 June 1959. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Mutual of New York Elects Two; Insurer Names Hull Top Executive and Hughes President Mutual of New York Appoints Hull and Hughes to Top Posts". The New York Times. 27 October 1967. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Chairman of Mutual Life A Governor of Big Board". The New York Times. 23 May 1969. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  9. ^ Bachrach, Fabian (10 December 1963). "New Trustee Selected By Atlantic Mutual Co". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  10. ^ Liotta, Jarret (13 October 2013). "Darien church's history mirrors that of town". Darien Times. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  11. ^ "James Roger Hull Jr". Darien Times. February 8, 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Miss Brown Is Wed to Clergyman". The New York Times. 12 November 1967. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Mace -- Hull". The New York Times. 25 June 1961. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  14. ^ "Elizabeth P. Hull Is Wed in Darien To David E. Hall". The New York Times. 28 July 1968. Retrieved 17 March 2022.