A Tribute to the Memory of Allan Markey
By Richard C. Fedorovich, CPA, Managing Partner
As you may be aware, Bober Markey Fedorovich partner Allan Markey passed away on May 25 after a long illness.
I feel compelled to offer you some thoughts on Allan. Despite his long association with the firm and his many years of leadership in the community, many of you may not have had the opportunity to work with Allan. So while I consider these thoughts to be “for all,” I offer them more specifically to those of you who did not know Allan Markey.
Allan grew up in Cleveland Heights. He attended Miami University of Ohio, was a proud member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity, and ultimately graduated from Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University), earning a Bachelor of Science in business administration. Upon graduation in 1965, Allan went to work for Arthur Andersen. In 1970, he joined founding partner Stanley Bober, who was also Allan’s uncle. Allan was elected partner in 1972 and the firm’s name was changed to Bober & Markey.
I first met Allan in the late summer of 1979, having never seen nor heard of him (or the firm) before then. I have to admit that I was taken by his charm and enthusiasm but also found him to be like no one I had ever met. My memory of Allan Markey will always be framed by a billboard that had long been on Lane Avenue in Columbus (for all of you Buckeye fans). It featured a large picture of Woody Hayes and written underneath it was, very simply, the following words, “IN ALL THE WORLD THERE IS ONLY ONE.” That is the way I have always thought about Allan. Brilliant to be sure, an urgent sense about his responsibility to clients, absolutely. Impatient at times, yes. Direct in his comments, but that was his style. No one was ever left wondering where Allan stood on a matter.
To this day, I believe that one of our firm’s fundamental assets of rendering our honest opinion when clients ask questions can be traced back to Allan. He set the tone in the early days for many of the positive attributes that exist today at the firm.
As I got to know Allan a bit better, there were certain truths that came to pass. For many years we used to play racquetball doubles at the Jewish Center, with a standing game on Christmas morning at 8 a.m. (why I will never know). What I learned there was that I never let Allan play behind me! I think that I still have the lumps in the back of my head to demonstrate why not.
More importantly, he was a person with impenetrable integrity and someone you could always trust and depend upon. He could be a bit gruff and tough, but he had a heart of gold and never backed away from helping people with their personal as well as professional problems. And he was a man of interesting sayings such as: “You can call a pig Rover, but you can’t make him fetch” or “He’d rather curse the darkness than light a single candle.”
Probably one of my favorite recollections of Allan was that he was never reluctant to say, “The answer is I don’t know!” It was typical of his bottom line approach, which was to speak honestly, with no false airs about him. Make no mistake – he would follow up later with the guidance necessary. But to this day I still laugh when thinking about the times that I would hear him say that and recall the stunned expression on people’s faces. It was a look that was, as they say, priceless.
Allan loved his family, he loved his religion, he loved his friends, he loved his clients and he loved the firm. He was a fixture at the offices of his largest client even after his retirement, having spent a business lifetime in service to them in particular. He also loved his community, having served across a broad range of efforts over many years, generally in a leadership role. Just a cross section of what Allan did that set the tone for community service at the firm included:
- President and campaign chair of the Jewish Community Federation of Akron
- President of the Shaw Jewish Community Center of Akron
- President of the Kent State University Hillel Foundation and Ohio Valley Hillel Consortium
- President of B’nai B’rith
- United Way of Summit County Allocations Panel
- Central Hower Advisory Board member
- Temple Israel board member
- Treasurer for Congressmen Tom Sawyer and John Sieberling congressional campaigns
- Treasurer for a number of key political and judicial campaigns
- Board member of the Boy Scouts of America
- Alumni board member for Case Western Reserve University
- Finance committee chair for Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital
- Volunteer for Planned Parenthood
Allan collected many awards and accolades through the years but was most proud of the legacy that he built at the firm, in the Akron Jewish community and in the Akron community. We are all better for the many accomplishments of Allan Markey.
On behalf of all of the partners of the firm, I would like to pass along our most sincere sympathies to Allan’s family – Arlene, Carrie and Sam, Robin, Andrew and Zachary.
For those of us who had the privilege of working with Allan or being his partner, I say “rest in peace,” Allan. You have left us with life lessons and with memories that will serve us well for the remainder of our lives. In an entire lifetime one cannot do more.