Joseph Robert Zatto

Joseph Robert Zatto, age 88, of Atlanta, Georgia, passed away peacefully on Saturday, December 17, 2022. Joe was born August 3, 1934, to the late Joseph and Leah Jean Zatto in Queens, New York. An only child, Joe grew up in the South Ozone Park neighborhood of Queens surrounded by many aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Joe showed an aptitude for numbers at an early age and became a voracious reader as an adult. He graduated from John Adams High School in 1952. He attended Queens College for a few days and decided it wasn’t for him. Instead, he joined the United States Navy with his best childhood friend Dean Galvin (“Uncle Deanie”), during the Korean War, where he served for four years and excelled in electronics. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserves for another four years.

In 1957, shortly after his return from active duty, he took a job at Alexander & Alexander, Inc. (A&A) in New York City to begin his training as an actuarial student. But he wasn’t ready for an office job, so he left to be a forklift operator in a warehouse. On a day off, he heard a radio contest where clues were given to find a pigeon with a $50 bill wrapped around its ankle. He followed the clues to City Hall where hundreds of other listeners were running around hoping to find the lucky pigeon. He didn’t find the pigeon but he was across the street from his old A&A office and decided to visit his friends. While there, the boss Jeffrey Calvert got word Joe had come by and he went to find him. He offered Joe his old job back and that set the course of Joe’s future. He soon met another young A&A actuarial trainee Carolyn Gercken, who became the love of his life. They married in 1959 and settled on Staten Island to raise their four children born between 1963 and 1968. During those busy years, Joe and Carolyn worked as a team of equal partners which was a defining characteristic of their long and happy marriage. Joe studied for and passed the arduous actuarial exams to become a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, the highest credential in the actuarial profession. He continued to advance in his career as a consulting pension actuary at A&A. In 1971, a promotion opportunity took him and his family to Atlanta, Georgia where he became the Chief Actuary of the A&A offices. He worked with many wonderful people and cherished those years.

He traveled a great deal for his job but tried to be home before the kids went to bed as many nights as he could, even if it meant catching an early morning flight to make his next meeting. His kids always jumped for joy at his arrival. He was an early Delta million miler and talked about the days when he would walk up to the counter and write out his own ticket.

His Sunday morning bicycle rides to McDonald’s for breakfast were legendary. It started with his own young kids and became a weekly event that many neighborhood kids joined in.

Joe had a fun spirit and a good sense of humor and he was very kind-hearted. He hoped for and looked for the best in people and usually found it.

He was respected by his colleagues and trusted by his clients. One of his proudest moments was being pictured in the annual report of a long-time client. He participated in bargaining negotiations and was admired by and bridged the gap with the union representatives. Joe grew up in the field doing calculations by hand and when computers entered the picture, he could identify programming errors just by looking at the results. Many a young actuary thought Joe couldn’t be right because the computer was doing it, but, in the end, the error would be found and Joe’s old school numbers would be proven to be correct.

His affinity for numbers made him a skilled poker player which he enjoyed doing for many years – in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Biloxi and any other casino he happened upon, along with local games with friends, and family games with his grandchildren. One year he won enough satellite tournaments to gain entry into the World Series of Poker, well before all of the television hoopla.

Joe retired from A&A (now part of Aon) in 1992 after 35 years of service. Retirement started out rocky with his wife Carolyn who declared him ‘always underfoot’ but they soon worked out their new rhythm and enjoyed another 15 years together before her death in 2007. His retirement was interrupted here and there (encouraged by his wife) when he worked with his daughter Mindy as a consultant for Strategic Benefits Advisors, a boutique actuarial consulting firm. He enjoyed the work, the clients, the team and especially “not being the boss”.

Joe was a steadfast lifelong New York Yankees fan, despite his grandchildren’s deep love for the Atlanta Braves. He loved the outdoors, sitting in the warm sun on his deck on a hot day reading his book (or studying the insides of his eyelids), caring for his bluebird houses and hummingbird feeders around his property, growing enormous red tomatoes, and tending to his compost pile.

A devoted husband, father and grandfather, Joe above all loved spending time with his family. His favorite time of the week was Sunday evening when many of his family would gather at his home for dinner usually cooked by his daughter Leslie. His family could always count on his love and support. He had an especially close relationship with his grandson Walker who grew up with Joe’s guidance and eventually became his devoted caregiver in Joe’s later years.

Joe was preceded in death by his parents, his beloved wife of 47 years Carolyn, and his son-in-law David H. Reid.

He is survived by his four children, Stacy Zatto of Decatur, Mindy Zatto of Sandy Springs, Chris Zatto of Atlanta, and Leslie (Bryan) Gersack of Marietta and his eight grandchildren: Dayton, Cara, and Walker Gscheidle; Tyler, Justin, and Dylan Reid; and Grace and Ella Gersack.

A private interment service will be held at Georgia National Cemetery in Canton.