Ivan Sergeyevich Obolensky
Ivan Obolensky addresses the Soldiers', Sailors', Marines', Coast Guard and Airmen's Club, 2005
Born(1925-05-15)May 15, 1925
London, England
DiedJanuary 29, 2019(2019-01-29) (aged 93)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
EducationSt. George's School
Alma materYale College
Spouses
Claire Elizabeth McGinnis
​
​
(m. 1949; div. 1956)​
    Mary Elizabeth Morris
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1959; died 2006)​
    Children4
    Parent(s)Sergei Platonovich Obolensky
    Ava Alice Muriel Astor
    RelativesSee Astor family

    Prince Ivan Sergeyevich Obolensky (May 15, 1925 – January 29, 2019) was an American financial analyst and corporate officer. He was previously commissioned in the United States Navy, serving as a Flight Lieutenant, and had also been a publisher.[1] He died on January 29, 2019.[2]

    Early life

    Obolensky was born in London, England, on May 15, 1925, to Prince Sergei Platonovich "Serge" Obolensky and Ava Alice Muriel Astor. Paternally, he belonged to the Obolensky family of Russian princes who trace their lineage to the Rurikid rulers of Kyivan Rus who preceded the Romanov emperors. Through his mother, he was a great-great-great-grandson of John Jacob Astor and the elder grandson of John Jacob Astor IV, who died on the RMS Titanic[1] and is thus, a member of the Astor family.

    Obolensky was educated at St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island, and graduated from Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1947. While at Yale, he was a member of St. Elmo, a senior secret society.

    Career

    After Yale, Obolensky became a writer working for Telavid Inc. Imports, and went on to serve with the United States Navy as a pilot. In 1957, he formed a publishing firm McDowell, Obolensky Inc. with a partner, David McDowell. The firm published James Agee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, A Death in the Family (1957), and was the U.S. publisher for Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (1959). It was dissolved in 1960. Obolensky then formed a second publishing house, Ivan Obolensky, Inc. This firm continued through 1965, when he joined the investment banking firm of A. T. Brod & Company as a partner.[1] The publishing house continued until 1968 under the name Astor-Honor.

    Throughout his main career on Wall Street as a financial analyst, Obolensky covered many prestigious accounts. He was Vice President of Moseley, Hallgarten, Estabrook & Weeden Inc., Stock brokers and Vice President of Shields & Company. Obolensky was an active member of the philanthropic community in New York. He was, for many years, an active supporter of the Soldiers', Sailors', Marines', Coast Guard and Airmen's Club,[3] and New York's International Debutante Ball,[4] which benefits the club. He was also Treasurer of the Russian Nobility Association in America, Inc.,[5] and the US Prior of the Orthodox Order of St. John.[6]

    Personal life

    Obolensky first married in New York City on October 10, 1949, to Claire Elizabeth McGinnis (1929–2015).[7][8] Claire was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and at Miss Burke's School, both in San Francisco, and at Finch College in Manhattan. She was the daughter of Felix Signoret McGinnis (1883–1945), vice-president of the Southern Pacific Company, and Clara (née Leonhardt) McGinnis (1887–1984). Before their divorce in 1956,[9] Ivan and Claire were the parents of one daughter and two sons:

    • Marina "Maria" Ivanovna Obolensky (b. 1951), who married N. Carlton. She later married William D. Folwick (1932–2017).[8][10]
    • Ivan Ivanovich Obolensky (b. 1952), who married Mary Jo Smith without issue.
    • David Ivanovich Obolensky (b. 1953), who married Mary Catherine Hicks (b. 1952) on March 21, 1981;[11] they are the parents of two daughters.

    After their divorce, Claire married designer and art advisor Garrick C. Stephenson (1927–2007).[12][13] On October 22, 1959, Obolensky married for the second time to Mary Elizabeth Morris (1934–2006).[14][15] Together, they were the parents of one son:

    • Sergei Ivanovich Obolensky (b. 1960), who married Ceceila Chapman Justice (b. 1956) in 1986;[16] they are the parents of two sons.

    Death

    Ivan Obolensky died on January 29, 2019. His funeral was held at the Church of the Incarnation in New York City.[17]

    See also

    References

    1. 1 2 3 Edwin McDowell (October 9, 1989). "The Media Business: Financial Analyst of Publishing Companies Who's Done a Thing or Two". New York Times. Even if there were such a thing as a typical Wall Street investment banker, Ivan Obolensky, the senior vice president of research for Josephthal & Company, would not be it. That is, not unless the typical investment banker was also the London-born son of a Russian prince and a grandson of John Jacob Astor, who is said to have been the wealthiest man in America when he went down with the Titanic. Mr. Obolensky, 64 years old, is also a Yale graduate, novelist, former United States Navy pilot and one-time book publisher whose first list produced James Agee's Pulitzer Prize novel, A Death in the Family. .....
    2. ↑ "Ivan Obolensky Obituary". Legacy.com. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
    3. ↑ "A Welcome Mat for Soldiers and Sailors". The Wall Street Journal. October 4, 2010.
    4. ↑ "The Luckiest Girls in the World". The New York Observer. December 30, 2010.
    5. ↑ "Officers". Russian Nobility Association Website. Archived from the original on January 8, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
    6. ↑ Cardile, Paul. "Charity, Good Deeds, Culture: The Knights of the Orthodox Order of St. John, Russian Grand Priory". Social Register. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
    7. ↑ "Claire Obolensky Excommunicated After Wedding in Russian Church". New York Times. October 14, 1949. Retrieved October 26, 2010. The New York Roman Catholic Archdiocese announced yesterday the excommunication from the church of the former Miss Claire Elizabeth McGinnis, who was married here on Monday to Ivan Obolensky.
    8. 1 2 Staff (April 24, 2015). "Claire McGinnis Stephenson". Palm Beach Daily News. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
    9. ↑ "Loading". www.howardmcginnis.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
    10. ↑ "Obituary for William D. Folwick". Star Tribune. May 14, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
    11. ↑ "Mary Catherine Hicks Engaged". New York Times. February 1, 1981. Retrieved May 5, 2010. Mary Catherine Hicks and David Ivanovich Obolensky plan to be married March 21. Announcement of their engagement has been made by Mr. and Mrs. George Thomas Hicks of Nashville, parents of the future bride. Her fiance is the son of Mrs. Garrick C. Stephenson and Ivan Obolensky, both of New York, and a descendant of the original John Jacob Astor..... His father is a vice-president of Moseley, Hallgarten, Estabrook & Weeden Inc., stockbrokers. The future bridegroom is a grandson of Clara Leonhardt of San Francisco, the late Felix S. McGinnis, who was a vice president of the Southern Pacific Railroad; the late Ava Astor, and the late Serge Obolensky of New York, who ran his own public relations concern.
    12. ↑ "Paid Notice: Deaths STEPHENSON, GARRICK C." The New York Times. February 9, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
    13. ↑ Korb, Priscila (August 27, 2015). "Southampton Estate of Late Designer Garrick C. Stephenson Put on the Market". Southampton, NY Patch. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
    14. ↑ "Paid Notice: Deaths Obolensky, Mary Elizabeth Morris". New York Times.
    15. ↑ "Loading..." bellevueholidayrentals.com. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
    16. ↑ "Miss Justice Is Engaged". The New York Times. February 16, 1986. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
    17. ↑ "In Memoriam: Ivan Sergeievich Obolensky". January 29, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2019.

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