ANDRé P. JUNEAU

André P. Juneau, senior vice president of Nieman Hanks Puryear, a division of Frost Insurance Agency Inc., Austin, and former president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas, died Feb. 14 in Austin. He was 47.

Juneau, who died after a brief stay at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House following a year-long battle with cancer, was an energetic and popular industry leader, and a hugely successful insurance executive who remained actively involved in the agency and association until a couple of weeks ago.

Juneau worked for the Nieman Hanks Puryear agency since 1982, shortly after graduating from the University of Texas with a major in insurance. André had interned in the agency during his senior year at UT. Almost immediately he began work toward professional designations, garnering the CPCU, CIC, ARM and CRM designations over the next 20 years.

Throughout his career he was active in numerous civic organizations, including serving as president of the Capitol Area Food Bank.

He received multiple awards for his association work at the local and state levels. In 1995 he was selected as Texas Young Agent of the Year. He became an IIAT director in 1999 and president in 2002. Most recently, Juneau oversaw the work of the governance task force that restructured the association’s committees and redefined the board’s role. Just this year, he was honored with the Distinguished Service Award by his fellow agents.

Juneau was married to his high school sweetheart, Laura, for 23 years. They have three children: Nicole, 17; Natalie, 15; and Clay, 7.

A memorial service was held Feb. 16 at St. John Neumann Catholic Church. Memorials may be sent to Young Men’s Business League’s Austin Sunshine Camps (www.sunshine-camps.org), Mobile Loaves and Fishes (www.mlfnow.org), or Hospice Austin’s Christopher House (www.hospiceaustin.org).