Robert Hewitt, one of the first generation of financial planners who served
as president and chairman of the former International Association For Financial
Planning (IAFP) in the late 1980s and early 1990s, died at the age of 72 on
February 3 after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.
   Hewitt played a critical role in holding the IAFP together at a time when the nascent financial planning business was severely challenged and the association, in particular, was fighting a battle of membership attrition.
   Like many early financial planners, Hewitt entered the profession represented as a second career. He also was a third-generation West Point graduate and a 20-year officer in the United States Army who served in Vietnam and later taught at West Point.
   Hewitt began his career as a financial planner in 1976, building a practice in the Monterey, Calif., area. Before being elected to IAFP leadership, he had served as president of its Santa Clara and Monterey chapters. Colleagues recall his warm gregarious nature, candor and openness to different ideas.
   Hewitt is survived by his wife, Susan; his mother, Elizabeth Hewitt; and five children and thirteen grandchildren. The Foundation For Financial Planning, in which Hewitt was active, has established a memorial fund in his honor.

-FAnews Staff Report