A.B. Worthington, insurance executive

Alan Beaumont Worthington, 89, of Plymouth Meeting, a World War II veteran and insurance claims company executive, died Saturday, Sept. 20, of congestive heart failure at Masonic Village in Lafayette Hill.

Mr. Worthington was a leader in the Philadelphia-area insurance claims business. As president of Weeks-Worthington Adjustment Co. in Jenkintown, he provided independent claims-adjustment services for larger insurance firms. The firm was sold, and Mr. Worthington stayed on until retiring nine years ago.

He was treasurer of the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Insurance Adjusters for many years. In 2005, he was honored by the association for his years of service.

Born in Langhorne, Mr. Worthington graduated from the South Kent (Conn.) School. A self-taught artist, he painted ships and landscapes and took photographs, skills he shared with his daughters.

Mr. Worthington enlisted in the Army right out of high school. He saw action in World War II as a cannoneer in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Germany. He landed on Omaha Beach in August 1944 and, with the 131st Anti-Aircraft Artillery 90 mm Gun Brigade, pushed through eastern France and into Belgium, along the way helping to free Paris.

"He often spoke about the excitement of riding with tanks and big guns down the streets of Paris with the city in jubilant celebration," said his daughter Sandra.

He fought in the Battle of the Bulge, which started late in 1944 and extended through January 1945. Mr. Worthington and his brothers in arms stood for weeks in slush and ice without removing their boots.

As a result, most had frozen feet, and many, including Mr. Worthington, suffered from permanent nerve and vascular damage. Despite that, Mr. Worthington, whose toes were saved by a medic, stayed active, exercising on a NordicTrack until he was 75.

In June 1945, Mr. Worthington was part of a unit in Berchtesgaden assigned to guard duty at Hitler's Eagle's Nest, he told his family.

During that time, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower visited. Mr. Worthington was assigned to greet him at the base of the mountain, where the elevator to the Eagle's Nest was situated.

A sign at the elevator indicated "Officers Only." After showing Eisenhower to the elevator, Mr. Worthington told the general he would meet him at the top, intending to walk up the mountain.

Eisenhower, however, tore the sign off the elevator, and walked with Mr. Worthington up the hill to the Eagle's Nest, Mr. Worthington told his family.

He was honorably discharged as a private in February 1946 but continued in the Army Reserve. A graduate of the Army War College, and Command and General Staff College, he retired with the rank of colonel in 1988.

After the war, he attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics. There he met Ruth Myers, a premed major. They married in 1948 and moved to Chestnut Hill, but settled in Plymouth Meeting to raise a family.

Among his many awards was the Service Medal with three Battle Stars (central Europe, Rhineland, and Northern Europe).

On June 17, 2011, he and nine other veterans gathered at the French Embassy in Washington, where they were given the title of knight of the French Legion of Honor. The honor acknowledges services rendered to France by people of great merit.

In addition to being a military man and insurance worker, he was a devoted father, his daughter said.

"Dad took on us on long trips and made sure that we saw many different parts of the world," his daughter said.

Surviving, besides his daughter, are his wife, Ruth; daughters Margot and Carol Worthington-Levy; and a granddaughter.

Funeral services were held Friday, Sept. 26, with full military honors. Burial was private.

Donations may be made to the South Kent School, 40 Bulls Bridge Rd., South Kent, Conn. 06785.