Thomas Maurice Whalen

1940 - 2026

Thomas Maurice Whalen
Born: November 25, 1940
Died: February 1, 2026
Thomas Maurice Whalen, 85, of Phoenix, Arizona, passed away peacefully in his sleep at home on February 1, 2026. An unabashed Irish storyteller, Tom was a lover of all things family and Notre Dame. He thrived on building connections among friends and always said, "I'm the luckiest man you'll ever know."
The third and youngest (surprise!) child of Elizabeth (Shields) and John Whalen, Tom was born at St. Mary's Hospital in Streator, Illinois on November 25, 1940. He had a gift for connecting with others and remembering the details that mattered most to his friends and family. Throughout his frequent moves as a child, he would often go door to door to find kids his age to play with. His ability to make lasting friendships only increased with time.
In 1958, he graduated from St. Bede Academy in Peru, Illinois. Tom then went onto LaSalle-Peru-Oglesby Junior College (Illinois Valley Community) where he acted in theater productions (Curious Savage) and played football which earned him a scholarship to North Dakota Agriculture College (North Dakota State). A recurring injury ended his football career and led him to transfer to Western Illinois State University where he committed to his lifelong practice of making meaningful friendships.
Following graduation, he signed up for the Peace Corps and was scheduled to serve in Bolivia because of his fluency in Spanish, but experienced a debilitating knee injury that prevented him from deploying. Since Tom's charm and gift for talking were not affected, he moved to Chicago and took a sales job at the Chicago Tribune. His professional career shifted in the early 1970s when he began working as a stock broker for Merrill Lynch, where he would earn promotions to branch manager in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Colorado Springs and Scottsdale, and assistant director of marketing in New York City. In 1993, Tom moved to Arizona where he met his wife, Dianne. They were married in 1997. After retiring in 2000, Tom assumed the roles of Errand Guy, voiceover actor, 26 handicap golfer at Phoenix Country Club and thoughtful correspondent. He celebrated his friends and family and marveled at his own good fortune.
Tom is survived by his wife, Dianne Hunter; his son, Casey Whalen, daughters, Cate Smith (Brian), Haley Pearson (Mike), Tess Strasser (Tyler) and stepdaughters Traci Abramson (Jonathan) and Tiffany Hunter Rusaw (John); as well as his adored grandchildren, Hunter and Mia Whalen, Remington Ickes; Cali and Clio Smith; Cash, Lola and Brielle Pearson; Amelia and Axel Strasser; Diana Abramson, Christina (Aaron) Endy, Lara (Scott) Abramson, Luke Abramson and Gabriel Cummings; Hunter and Parker Brockman; and great-grandchildren, Jason, Erica, Tanya and Tabitha. Tom is also survived by his sister, Joan McGinnis of Scottsdale, Arizona.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to a memorial scholarship at Tom's alma mater, St. Bede Academy.
Live Stream Link: https://vimeo.com/event/5723395
Recorded Video Link: https://vimeo.com/1163783814