Obituary: Alan Howard Fine
Alan Howard Fine was the most kind, caring, and compassionate person one could ever know.
Alan Howard Fine was the most kind, caring, and compassionate person one could ever know. He was an artist and adventurer beloved by everyone who knew him. Alan loved his family and friends, whom he truly considered an extension of his family, and he was always willing to help them in any way he could. A creative free spirit, Alan was an avid traveler, loved music and going to shows, and prioritized spending time with family and friends above all else. He was an animal lover and wonderful dog dad to Dov and Gizmo.
Alan was born in Atlanta on Jan. 23, 1973. He attended Woodward Academy and The Galloway School. Alan loved spending summers at Camp Barney Medintz, where he formed many of his strongest relationships. He loved seeing live bands including the Grateful Dead and Widespread Panic and built a community of music-loving friends.
Alan’s love for travel began with the family pop-up camper trips to Disney World and continued with adventures in Europe, Southeast Asia and South Africa. He loved all things outdoors, including camping, jumping ocean waves and lounging poolside.
Alan graduated from the University of Georgia with an art degree in sculptural design focusing on metalworking and glass blowing. While in Athens, Alan opened a glass blowing studio called Controlled Burn Studios. He continued his career at the Corning Museum of Glass, the Penland School of Craft, and in the California Bay area. Alan’s passion for art and eagerness to learn led him to make friendships across the U.S. and beyond, including Murano, Italy, where he befriended famous glassblower, Elio Quarisa.
After more than 20 years of working as an artist, he decided to separate passion and career. In 2014, Alan began his nursing education so he could directly help people in need. Alan never lost his love for making art and continued blowing glass and teaching art and glass blowing while in nursing school. He received his nurse practitioner degree in 2019, and since then, devoted his time to helping the homeless and the dying, adults with dementia, and children with terminal illnesses.
Alan volunteered at several hospitals and was known as the friendly professional with a smile that could light up a room. He had a gift for empathizing with others and sought to give his patients the high-quality care he would want for himself, his family or his friends. When COVID-19 struck, Alan volunteered endless hours making hundreds of face coverings and conducting contact tracing. At the time of his death, from a heart attack, Alan was providing excellent nursing care at a hospital.
He will be sorely missed by his family, friends, and co-workers. He is survived by his parents Laraine and Lowell Fine; sister, Alison Fine (Josh Rosenberg); niece and nephews Aviva Fine, Zev Fine, Levi Rosenberg and Max Rosenberg; aunts and uncle Barbara and Larry Fine, Loretta Fine, and Fay Faye; sister-in-law, Leigh Olstein; and cousins and other relatives. He was predeceased by his brother, Lewis Sandford (Sandy) Fine.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Camp Barney Medintz (MJCCA), the American Heart Association or Penland School of Crafts (Penland, N.C.).
Graveside services were held Jan. 10, viewable on Zoom. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999
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