Robert J. Horrigan, 79;

Insurance Executive with Wit

Robert James Horrigan, a longtime insurance executive in Santa Monica, passed away peacefully at his home in Pacific Palisades on December 8. He was 79. Bob was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1928, and his parents, Margaret and William, moved him and his brother Bill to Glendale, California, shortly after his birth. Bob started his lifelong career as a father and husband when he married his soulmate, Yvonne Sweeney, in 1953. He and Yvonne had five daughters whom they raised in Santa Monica, where Bob also worked as an insurance broker. In 1957, Bob purchased the oldest insurance company in Santa Monica, Ira Wheeler Insurance, which later merged with Ernie White and Co. Agency, where he served as senior vice president. He retired in 1993, after 28 years of faithful service, and, in 1999, he and Yvonne moved to the Palisades. Bob was very active in Santa Monica, where he served for a time as the youngest president of Kiwanis Club (garnering a Legion of Honors Award for 40 years of service), president of the Insurance Agents Association and president of the Catholic Welfare Bureau. He also served on the boards of the Boys’ Club of Santa Monica, Family Services of Santa Monica, C.Y.O., the Red Cross, Community Chest, the City of Santa Monica Personnel Board, the Santa Monica Conservancy Commission, the Friendly House Foundation, the Mary Lin Foundation and Yukaholics. Bob was an active member of Alcoholics Anonymous for over 40 years, and leaves behind a number of men he sponsored who loved him as much as he loved and cared for them. He will be missed and forever remembered for his wisdom and one-liners by his wife Yvonne, his five daughters, their spouses and grandchildren, including Catherine Franssen (husband Robert) of Santa Monica; Lisa Zeder (husband Kim) and sons Eric and Brian McMorrow and Zane Zeder of Pacific Palisades; Julie in Seattle, Washington with son William Wahlgren; Paula and daughter Michaela Wong of Santa Monica; and Kelly and daughter Camille Horrigan-Slajus, also residing in Santa Monica. Bob adored his grandchildren, ages 9 to 28, and passed on his sense of humor to them all. For those of us who were honored to know Bob, we will always remember his jokes, his compassion and his love. He will be memorialized on Saturday, December 15, in the Corpus Christi gymnasium in Pacific Palisades, from 12 to 4 p.m. If your flowers cannot be the biggest, gaudiest bouquet–shaped in the name of Bob–then please send donations to the Clare Foundation (310-314-6200) or Friendly House Foundation (213-389-9964).