Necrology

Harold Hancock Bristol, Jr. '54

Aug. 18, 1932-Jul. 15, 2024

Harold Hancock Bristol, Jr. ’54, P’90, GP’25 died in Syracuse, N.Y., on July 15, 2024. Born in Syracuse on Aug. 18, 1932, he came to Hamilton from Nottingham High School. On the Hill, he was a member of Theta Delta Chi fraternity and majored in political science. He performed with the band as a freshman and senior. Beginning in his sophomore year, he sang in the College Choir and became the house manager of Theta Delt as a junior. In his senior year he joined the International Relations Club and the staff of The Hamiltonian. 

In July 1954, Harold entered the U.S. Air Force Officer Candidate School. Upon graduation and commissioning, he was assigned to a refueling squadron of the Strategic Air Command based in Lake Charles, La., and, for a time, in Goose Bay, Labrador. Shortly thereafter, on March 6, 1955, he married Winona Brierly, known to friends and family as “Noni,” in her hometown of LeRoy, N.Y. They would have two daughters and a son and live for many years in the Syracuse suburb of Manlius.

While stationed in Lake Charles in 1956, Harold was asked by the base commander to organize a Boy Scout troop for the sons of servicemen. At the time, Scout troops in Louisiana were racially segregated; the troop on the base would be open to all. Harold’s success in this endeavor marked the first of many occasions in which he demonstrated a strong commitment to social justice and his community.

After Harold was honorably discharged with the rank of first lieutenant in 1958, he and Noni returned to Syracuse, and he began pursuing a career in sales — his ambition since high school — specifically, in insurance. Hired by the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., he first completed a special training program for underwriters taught at the company’s Springfield, Mass., headquarters. He received a “Freshman Five” award from Mass Mutual for his accomplishments in that program and in 1959 began work as a sales representative in Syracuse. He remained with MassMutual until his retirement in 1990.

Harold quickly developed into what one associate described as an “aggressive and tenacious salesman.” He was so successful in his first year with MassMutual that he qualified for the Million Dollar Roundtable of the National Association of Life Underwriters (NALU) — in other words, he sold a million dollars’ worth of life insurance. He maintained his place in this club annually for many years until, in 1980, he became a life member of the roundtable.

In 1961, he received the National Quality Award from the NALU in recognition of his accomplishments, joined the Leaders’ Club and President’s Club of MassMutual, and was asked to address the annual sales conference of its Albany office. 

In 1964, after completing the requirements of the American College of Life Underwriters (now the American College of Financial Services), Harold became a Chartered Life Underwriter. In 1973, he was elected president of the Syracuse Life Underwriters Association, which in 1980 conferred upon him its Distinguished Service Award. He continued to expand his professional development, and, in 1983, he completed the requirements to become a Chartered Financial Consultant of the American College of Life Underwriters.

Given his continued professional success, it wasn’t surprising that he also became a mentor to younger agents in MassMutual’s Syracuse office. In 1990, that came to a sudden end when Harold was diagnosed with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, which, according to medical specialists, can be triggered by exposure to chemicals, electromagnetic forces, or other environmental substances. The condition can be debilitating, as it was for Harold. He was forced to retire.

Concurrent with his professional accomplishments, Harold engaged in a range of community service. Beginning in 1958, he and Noni attended the Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church where, over time, he acted variously as a deacon, an elder, and a chairman of the congregation’s trustees. He also joined its choir. He was a team captain for the United Fund and for the Boy Scout Capital Fund Drive and president of the Visiting Nurses Association of Central New York from 1969 to 1971, when health care in this country was adjusting to the policies of Medicare. He was president of the Citizens Foundation, a charity providing support to various community initiatives, and was a founder and board treasurer in 1979 of the Alethia Center on Death and Dying, which provided grief counseling assistance for those who have lost family members, particularly children. He also established and for a time directed the Fayetteville-Manlius chapter of A Better Chance, a national nonprofit organization that places talented young people of color in high-achieving boarding, day, and public schools in the U.S. He was also active in Habitat for Humanity in Syracuse, putting his skills as a woodworker to good use.

His support of the College took a variety of forms both during his career and in retirement. He was representative of the Class of 1954 on the Alumni Council, played an active role in the Priorities for Hamilton capital campaign and 175th Anniversary Campaign, served on his class’s reunion planning and reunion gift committees, and was a resource for the Career Center. For a time, he was president of the College’s Alumni Association of Syracuse. Beyond that, he established the Harold H. Bristol, Jr. ’54 Research Fund to support a student’s summer study at the Levitt Public Affairs Center, which he later described as “the best investment I’ve made since retirement.” A faithful donor to the Hamilton Fund, he supplemented those gifts during capital campaigns. Harold was also involved in promoting planned giving to the College. Among his contributions was to advocate for alumni to purchase life insurance policies for which Hamilton would be the beneficiary. 

In retirement, Harold remained active. He was an alpine skier on New England and Western slopes and backpacked in the Adirondacks, the Sierra Nevada mountains, and Arizona canyons. He and Noni were active participants in Elderhostels both at home and abroad, and their travels took them to Canada, many parts of the U.S., and Europe.

Harold’s woodworking skills came in handy when he and Noni purchased land on Charleston Lake in Ontario. There, as he reported in his 40th reunion yearbook, he built “decks, porches, a sauna, and an island cottage where we sail, swim, canoe, and read from May to October.”

On the occasion of his 50th reunion, Harold reflected on the impact the College had upon his life: “Hamilton gave me a solid grounding in academic challenges, critical thinking, written and spoken expression, and honorable, ethical living. There were opportunities to become involved and discover my passions. I’m glad that Hamilton has been a part of my life.”

Harold H. Bristol was predeceased by his wife, who died in 2017; his brother-in-law George R. Gillmore ’42, P’75,’77, GP’04; two uncles, Cameron Bristol, Class of 1904, and James E. Bristol, Class of 1896; and two cousins, Frederick Palmer and A. Bristol Palmer, both Class of 1923. He is survived by his two daughters and a son, Todd Bristol ’90, P’25; eight grandchildren, including Fiona Bristol ’25; nephews David G. Gillmore ’75 and George R. Gillmore, Jr. ’77; grand-nephew John McGrail ’04; and one great-grandson.

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