Thomas Hooker Paine

Thomas Hooker Paine June 25, 1928 - August 16, 2016 San Diego On August 16, 2016, Thomas Hooker Paine passed away peacefully at home in San Diego with his wife by his side.Tom was the second child of Anna Hooker Paine and Rodney F. Paine of Duluth. His education was at Phillips Exeter Academy and Princeton University, where he took a degree in economics.As a child in Duluth, Tom was known as an excellent chess player. One summer when Nobel Laureate Sinclair Lewis was in Duluth writing, he let it be known he could not find an adequate chess opponent; Tom spent the rest of the summer being that opponent.While Tom was at Princeton, he wrote an article for the campus paper on the futility and danger of the United States' pursuit of the Cold War. Albert Einstein, then doing research at Princeton, strongly supported this opinion and immediately invited Tom for an afternoon of tea and discussion on pacifism.In 1950, Tom began a career in economics at the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, where he was soon published on the topic of the rise of formal employee benefits and the need for their sound regulation to protect the public. This work led to an offer of partnership in a small Illinois-based human resources consulting firm, Hewitt Associates. That firm is now part of AON Hewitt, which has nearly 30,000 employees worldwide.Tom became a national thought leader on employee benefits and compensation, established Hewitt Associates' New York office, and was a major driver of the firm's rapid revolution of cash and non-cash compensation throughout the world. The firm was the only company asked by the U. S. government to consult on the Federal Interagency Task Force (1964-68) that led to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (1974). From this work flowed Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs, 1974) and new employee saving and investment opportunities through section 401(k) of the Revenue act of 1978.In 1981, The New York Times quoted Tom on his work with American Can Company on one of the earliest Flexible Benefits Programs, enabling employees to customize their benefits to their own needs. "Flexible plans give you more bang for the buck," he said. "This is not being done just to make people feel good."While he continued groundbreaking client work throughout the 1980s, Tom was recognized internally as a humble and unstinting mentor of young associates. In truth, he found his greatest rewards in these efforts.In the early 1990s, Tom undertook major international projects for Hewitt Associates. He built a team to assist the People's Republic of China in privatization of its state-owned industries. Then, in 1994, Tom led a second team to help British Hong Kong develop a Mandatory Provident Fund to provide a retirement income structure for the country prior to its return to China. With this work finished, Tom formally retired from Hewitt Associates.While living in New York, Tom had met Teresa Ann Norton, also a Hewitt Associates partner, and they were married in 1980. The two resided on the East Coast until 1990, when they made a major change in coasts and lifestyles.Tom and Teresa relocated to Napa Valley where they founded Vineyard 29, an exclusive, estate Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard that grew to cult status in the ten years they were vintners. The wine remains in high demand today under new ownership. Through charity auctions, Vineyard 29 raises substantial sums for heath care and animal welfare.Finally, in 2000, actual retirement seemed like a good idea. The couple moved in to Rancho Santa Fe and then San Diego, where they devoted their time to charity and academics.Tom was a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance, the Employee Benefits Research Institute, and the Napa Valley Vintners' Association and was named Volunteer of the Year for Interfaith Community Services in North County San Diego.Throughout his life, Tom was widely known for his charming absent-mindedness; in the 1950s Hewitt Associates abandoned its rule that consultants wear hats to client meetings partially because Tom left most of his hats at his clients' offices. He also had an uncanny ability to divert almost any conversation onto the topic of Prime Numbers, leaving his friends fascinated if not somewhat speechless. And, although Tom was not an athlete, his physical ability to hang multiple spoons off his nose and face (especially in elegant restaurants) astounded audiences and embarrassed his wife.Tom's wife and best friend, Teresa, survives him. He leaves three beloved sons from an earlier marriage: Thomas H. (Lisa); John K. (Patricia); and F. Rodney (Li); five treasured grandchildren; and a dear brother and sister.