Columbus Aflac matriarch dies at 90. ‘Mrs. Jean never met a stranger.’
Jean Roberts Amos, an Aflac matriarch and philanthropist, died Sunday at the age of 90, the company confirmed in a news release.
Jean’s ties to the Amos family began long before the founding of the now-Fortune 500 that calls Columbus home.
She first met her husband, Aflac co-founder Paul Amos, shortly after World War II at Milton Methodist Church in Milton, Florida. They married in 1948, and the couple gave birth to their only child, current Aflac CEO and chairman Dan Amos, in 1951.
The couple’s perseverance and business acumen were tested in those early years. Jean was diagnosed with tuberculosis and confined to a tuberculosis sanatorium for nearly a year. During that time, Jean could only come to the window to wave to her young son Dan.
Paul and Jean worked side by side, operating five-and-dime stores in Milton, which was a preview of the working relationship that would continue to grow at Aflac.
Paul’s brother, John, founded Aflac in 1955. Paul and other brother Bill soon joined the venture, and the three brother team built the company into one of the most recognizable insurers in the nation.
During that time, Jean was almost always by Paul’s side as he traveled the nation and the world. The couple lived in a Midtown Columbus home not far from Aflac’s Wynnton Road headquarters for decades.
“She was by far the company’s greatest cheerleader and beloved by all. She was so well thought of in the company that she is the only person elected into the Aflac Hall of Fame who never sold an Aflac policy,” according to a news release marking her death. “Mrs. Jean never met a stranger. Her warmth and compassion were abundant. She had a special way of making everyone feel important, and treating them with the same warmth and genuine delight. “
The couple established charitable organizations like the Paul S. and Jean R. Amos Foundation and donated to a number of individuals and causes. In 2011, the Amoses donated $4 million to Emory University for Parkinson’s research — a disease that Paul suffered from until his death in 2014.
Jean Amos’ funeral is set for 3 p.m. Wednesday at St. Luke United Methodist Church, followed by a private interment. The services will be lived streamed on the church’s website for those unable to attend in person. Visitation begins at 2 p.m at the church’s Ministry Center.
Those who wish to honor her memory are asked to donate to the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta or St. Luke United Methodist Church in Columbus, where she worshiped for more than 50 years.
In an email sent to Aflac employees Sunday, Dan Amos said his mother loved the company.
“I can say with certainty that Aflac would not be the company that it is today without her energy, grace and spirit,” he wrote. “She loved Aflac and she loved each and every one of you, too. And, I know, you all loved her right back. She rarely, if ever, missed an Aflac event because what she enjoyed most in life was being with her family, which included her Aflac family.”
This story was originally published November 11, 2019 at 3:00 PM.