Raised in Albemarle, N.C., Tom attended Woodberry Forest School in Virginia on his way to Princeton. His interest in speaking led him to Whig-Clio and his major in politics. Tom joined Quadrangle, where he is remembered for his quiet but wicked sense of humor, bridge, and his annual conduct of the Kentucky Derby Calcutta Pool. He returned to the South to earn a law degree at the University of Virginia Law School in 1963.

Moving north again, Tom joined Brown & Wood (later merged with Sidley Austin) in New York and stayed for 45 years. He rose to managing partner at Brown & Wood and vice chairman of Sidley Austin after the 2001 merger. The firm was the largest employer in the North Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11. His management after the attack was the greatest challenge of his career and earned the gratitude and appreciation of the that firm. 

Tom was active in the many industry/government partnerships which developed regulatory practices for the securities industry, as well as in associations within the legal profession. In retirement he became a senior adviser to the SEC Division of Investment Management, where he served until 2011.

Tom sadly suffered with Parkinson’s in his last years. He died Sept. 2, 2021, leaving his wife, Adrienne; their four children (including Ashley ’94); and nine grandchildren, to all of whom we send our condolences.

Undergraduate Class of 1960