First American's CFO Dies

Thomas A. Klemens, senior executive vice president and chief financial officer of The First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., died Jan. 3 of blood cancer, the company has reported.Mr. Klemens, 55, joined First American in 1985 as vice president and controller, was named principal accounting officer of the parent company and of First American Title Insurance Co. in 1992, and became vice president and CFO in 1993. He was named executive vice president of First American in 1996 and senior EVP in 2002. Parker S. Kennedy, First American's chairman and chief executive officer, called Mr. Klemens a "wonderful friend" who had "fought a long and hard battle against multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, for two years." Mr. Kennedy attributed First American's growth into a global, Fortune 500 company "in large part" to Mr. Klemens. The company can be found online at http://www.firstam.com.