Thomas Paul Bleakney

Thomas Paul Bleakney, FSA

Tom Bleakney was born July 19, 1928 in Seattle, WA to Anne Donlan Bleakney and Dr. Mel Bleakney, a dentist. He died of bile duct cancer on March 9, 2011 at age 82 at his home in Normandy Park. He was a 1946 graduate of Roosevelt High School and received his Bachelor of Arts in mathematical statistics from the University of Washington in 1950. While at the UW, Tom was a member of Chi Psi fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa, and the Varsity Crew.
After college, Tom worked briefly at California Western States Life in Sacramento, CA before being drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War, where he served at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. After his military service, he worked at New York Life in Manhattan and then returned to Seattle in 1954 to work for the actuarial firm Milliman & Robertson. He achieved Fellowship status in the Society of Actuaries (FSA) in 1955. Tom spent his career as a consulting actuary specializing in public pension plans. He was the author of Retirement Systems for Public Employees, published in 1972, in which he called special attention to the urgency of recognizing the accruing cost of pensions and other benefits under public employee plans and the need to adopt realistic fiscal policies to meet the obligations created by these plans. Tom was employed by Milliman for 39 years. He was the third actuary in the firm, which now has over 2000 employees around the world.
Tom and his former wife, Cheryl Bleakney, raised their family of five children in their home on Perkins Lane, in the Magnolia neighborhood. Until his retirement in 1992, Tom often commuted by bicycle to his office in downtown Seattle. Tom had a passion for outdoor sports, including skiing, hiking and backpacking, bicycling, and rafting. He climbed many of the mountains in the Pacific Northwest, including Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens. He had a great bass singing voice and loved driving his convertible. Tom's volunteer activities included serving on the boards of Neighborhood House and Seattle Housing Authority, and volunteering for Business Week at Highline High School.
Tom met his wife Margaret ("Mimi") Stanley on an airplane on February 25, 1987 and they married on May 21, 1988. They lived in Magnolia until 1996, when they moved to Sacramento, returning in 1999 to a new home in Normandy Park. During their life together, they traveled around the world and loved spending time with their blended family of eight children. They enjoyed summer days at their cabin on Lake St. Clair, where Tom would pilot his party barge, "Moby Dock," filled with family, friends, and dogs, around the lake. Tom and Mimi rooted for the Huskies and the Mariners, played bridge with friends, and attended performances at Seattle Opera, ACT Theater, and the Rep.
In addition to his wife, Tom is survived by his children, Paul Bleakney (Janet), Sheila Bleakney (Geoffrey Bedell), Eileen Freed (Cliff), Ross Bleakney (Hillary Lipe), and Scott Bleakney (Nathalie), and his step-children, Andrew Henrickson (Katie), Kristina Cox, and Katherine Henrickson. He is also survived by his half-sister, Patricia Okura, six cousins, a nephew, and sixteen grandchildren and step-grandchildren.
A celebration of Tom's life will be held on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at 2 p.m. at the Normandy Park Community Club at the Cove, 1500 SW Shorebrook Drive, Normandy Park, 98166.
Contributions in Tom's memory may be made to the University of Washington for the Thomas P. Bleakney endowed scholarship fund in the Department of Mathematics.