Anne Gongos lost her husband, John, too young. But thanks to John’s life insurance, Anne was able to keep John’s business intact and her family financially protected. To hear more, read on.
John Gongos always knew that life insurance was important. When he was a child, he learned firsthand how essential it could be. When his father passed away at age 43, the family had no insurance policy in place, so his mother had to raise three children with no financial safety net. In addition, one of John’s first bosses died in his early fifties, leaving that business in complete chaos.
So when his own company, Gongos Research, started growing by leaps and bounds, John decided it was time to get life insurance. He worked closely with his insurance agent to put together a business succession plan. Funded by his life insurance, the plan generously provided for his own family as well as his 100-plus employees. John made all the right moves, at the right time.
But then, John’s time was suddenly cut short. One day, he was having severe stomach pains. He asked his wife, Anne, to get him to an emergency room. At the hospital, he was diagnosed with 4th-stage melanoma. He died two weeks later, just shy of his 52nd birthday.
“It hit people to the core,” says Camille Nicita, CEO of Gongos, Inc. “John was a healthy, smart and vibrant individual. And to see that go away so quickly was just sad.”
John’s death was sudden and unexpected, but the life insurance policy he put in place allowed Anne to have her shares in the business bought out by the other partners. The proceeds from the death benefit allowed her to stay in her home and not have to uproot her three kids. “Life insurance was truly John’s final gift to us,” Anne says.
What happened to John illustrates that life insurance is a valuable product that can help keep a family afloat and intact when tragedy unexpectedly strikes. It’s an incredibly affordable way to ensure that your family’s financial future is protected when you die.
To hear more about Anne Gongos and her story, click on this video. Video courtesy of Life Happens (www.lifehappens.org).
