Stephen H. Axilrod

Stephen H. Axilrod, 95, passed away peacefully on March 17, 2022, surrounded by family at his home at Essex Meadows in Essex, Connecticut. Stephen Axilrod was born in New York City on June 21, 1926. After graduating from Harvard University and obtaining an advanced degree at The University of Chicago, Mr. Axilrod began a long and illustrious career in public service. Most notably, he spent 36 years at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System where he was an intimate advisor to three different Fed Chairman, rising to, among other positions, Staff Director for Monetary and Financial Policy as well as Staff Director and Secretary to the Federal Open Market Committee, the body of the Federal Reserve System primarily responsible for its monetary policy. He is particularly noted for working closely with Paul Volcker to implement a new and successful approach to monetary policy in order to control inflation. After leaving the Fed in 1986, Mr. Axilrod served as Vice-Chairman of Nikko Securities International (the U.S. subsidiary of what was then Nikko Securities Company Ltd. of Japan). After retiring from Nikko in 1994, Mr. Axilrod served as a consultant on central banking and monetary policy to numerous emerging central banks around the world and served on the Board of Directors of The Financial Services Volunteer Corps and the Japan Society. He is the author of two books on the Fed and monetary policy: Inside the Fed: Monetary Policy and its Management, Martin through Greenspan to Bernanke, MIT Press, 2011; and The Federal Reserve: What Everyone Needs to Know, Oxford University Press, 2013

The greatest joy in his life, however, was his family, which included his wife of 72 years, Katherine; his son Peter and his wife Sandy of Durham North Carolina; his daughter Emily and her husband Tim of Lyme Connecticut; and his son Richard and his wife Nancy of Greenwich Connecticut. He also enjoyed no less his 7 grandchildren Ben, Mike, Lindsey, Matthew, Eric, Clio and Gillie, and his 4 great-grandchildren, Owen, Oliver, Tessa and Maisie.

Funeral Services for family and friends are scheduled for Sunday, March 20, at 2:00 in The First Congregational Church of Lyme, Connecticut. A Memorial Service in New York City will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that those so inclined make a donation in Stephen Axilrod’s name to either Save the Children or Camp Clio. Please visit www.fultontherouxoldlyme.com for directions.