Obituary: Henry Nagel

Henry Nagel, age 90, passed away on July 22, 2023, with his family by his side. Henry was born in Berlin, Germany, on Feb. 1, 1933, the same weekend that Berlin (and all of Germany) was celebrating the election of Adolph Hitler as Chancellor of Germany. His family owned a chain of 180 grocery stores in greater Berlin which were subsequently picketed by SS troops. The family was thereafter given two weeks to sell the stores and leave Germany. The stores were sold at a “fire sale” price. The family dispersed to England, Brazil, South Africa, and Holland.

His immediate family moved to Amsterdam, Holland. His family finally obtained visas to immigrate to the United States and arrived in the U.S. on April 10, 1939, leaving a substantial portion of his mother’s family in Amsterdam, as they were unable to received U.S. visas (and who all perished when the Germans invaded Holland).

He grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, graduated from the University of Connecticut, served two years as an Army officer stationed in France, and graduated from Boston University Law School, where he met and later married Carol Joyce Gesmonde, also from New Haven. Upon graduation from law school, he was employed as a trial attorney with the New York City IRS Regional Counsel’s Office. During his four years with the IRS, he obtained his LLM in Taxation from NYU Graduate Law School. During that time, Henry also became the biggest contestant winner to that date on the TV quiz show “Concentration,” hosted by Hugh Downs.

Henry became Director of Taxes at the Hartford Insurance Group in Hartford, CT, and then obtained his CPA certificate and became a Partner and Tax Director in the Akron, Ohio office of Touche Ross & Co., CPAs. During his 18 years in Akron, he was VP, Finance, Akron Regional Children’s Hospital; VP, Temple Israel; Member, City of Akron Board of Tax Appeals; President, Akron Estate Planning Council; Chairman, Taxation and Legislation Committee of the Akron Regional Development Board; Adjunct Professor, Akron University Law School; and Board Member, Akron Rotary Club.

He, his wife Carol, and their two children Liz and Tom, moved to Atlanta in 1984 where he was a Partner and Head of the Taxation Department of Laventhol & Horwath, a national accounting and consulting firm. He left the firm in 1990 to join several financial planning firms in Atlanta after obtaining his Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation. In 1999, he was one of the co-founders of MyBenefitSource, Inc., which was sold to H&R Block in 2001. He was VP Finance for the Atlanta Business Council for the Arts; Chairman of the 1995 and 1998 Economic Impact of the Arts on Greater Atlanta studies; VP Finance, Diabetes Association of Atlanta; Member, Finance Committee, Georgia Council on Economic Education; Adjunct Professor, Georgia State University Graduate Business School; and Member, Buckhead Rotary Club.

During his tax and financial planning career, he lectured throughout the U.S., published over 20 articles in various national tax and business journals (one of which was cited in a case decided by the U. S. Supreme Court), and conducted numerous seminars and continuing education programs. He was an avid reader, a sometime sculptor, and a lover of classical music.

He is survived by his loving wife of 64 years, Carol, his son, Thomas Charles Nagel, Esq., his daughter, Liz Hayes (Brent Berkman), and his grandchildren, Alex Nagel (Nia), Max Hayes, Kelsie Nagel, and Griffin Hayes. Donations may be made in his memory to Atlanta’s Center for the Visually Impaired, the William Breman Jewish Home, or the Atlanta Humane Society.

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