Sherman J. Edelman | Insurance executive, 85

Sherman J. Edelman, 85, of Rydal, retired owner of an insurance consulting firm and decorated Navy veteran, died of kidney failure May 1 at home.

A native of Chicago, Mr. Edelman earned a bachelor's degree from DePaul University. During World War II, he served in the Navy in the Pacific as a gunnery officer aboard the escort carrier Sargent Bay. In 1945, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for shooting down a kamikaze plane about to hit the ship.

After his discharge, he earned a law degree from DePaul. He was recalled to active duty in the Korean War and served aboard a destroyer, the Norris, in the Pacific. He was discharged from the Navy Reserve as a commander in 1956.

Mr. Edelman was an executive with insurance companies in Chicago and New York City. In 1958, he joined Life Assurance Co. of Pennsylvania, where he met his future wife, Harriet Rosenthal. He had extensive knowledge of insurance markets and often traveled abroad on business, his wife said, including to Cyprus and Kenya. He was president of Life Assurance in 1971 when he left to form an insurance consulting firm, S.J. Edelman & Associates. He retired in 1986.

Mr. Edelman enjoyed skeet shooting, fishing, growing roses, and following the stock market.

In addition to his wife of 36 years, he is survived by sons Guy and Gregg; a stepson, Stephen Miller; and eight grandchildren.

A memorial service was held Sunday at Goldsteins' Rosenberg's Raphael-Sacks Memorial Chapel.