Surrounded by his family, Ashok Pradhan, loving husband, father, grandfather and dear friend passed away on March 28, 2018 in Davenport, Florida. Ashok was born in Bangalore, India and graduated as the valedictorian of his class at St. Xavier’s College and went on to study at the Sardar Patel College of Engineering.
Ashok immigrated to New York in 1970, and shortly thereafter embarked on a 30 year career with the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (“MONY”). He started with MONY as an agent, became a sales manager, and was appointed General Manager of the Flushing (Queens) Agency in 1977. During this time Ashok earned his Chartered Life Underwriter (“CLU”) and Chartered Financial Consultant “(ChFC”) designations from the American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
Ashok was MONY’s national Manager of the Year in 1993, a prestigious award given to the company’s top performing manager. He was later appointed Regional Vice President in 1995, overseeing MONY’s Northeastern agencies. He took an early retirement from MONY in 2000, taking time to travel extensively around the world with his wife, Ashwini. Ashok returned as a Managing Director with MetLife, and later held the same position with Union Central and retired again in 2010. Never able to sit still he bought and ran an Allstate agency in Winter Garden, FL in 2012. Due to his declining health, he sold the agency in 2015 and focused on spending time with family and friends.
Ashok’s quest for knowledge and zest for life was remarkable. He made friends wherever he went and his generosity knew no bounds. Ashok will always be remembered as a deeply spiritual man, a gifted story teller, and an enthusiastic party goer.
Ashok is survived by his childhood sweetheart, Ashwini, his daughter, Archana and her husband, Michael from Princeton, New Jersey, his son, Ashutosh and his wife, Sala from Jacksonville, Florida, and the lights of his life, his four granddaughters, Ashlyn, Sonia, Nina, and Aanya.