Thomas Edward Tom "Tom" Daxon

1947 - 2022

Thomas (Tom) Edward Daxon

Thomas "Tom" Edward Daxon, former Oklahoma Auditor and Inspector and Secretary of State Finance, passed peacefully into glory at his home in Oklahoma City, OK, on November 2, 2002. Tom had been on hospice for 3 months battling chronic kidney disease, multiple sclerosis and diabetes. Tom was born in Oklahoma City on December 19, 1947, the only child of John Edward and Mina Elizabeth Marie Daxon. He graduated from John Marshall High School in 1966 and obtained 2 degrees from Oklahoma State University, a Bachelor's degree in economics, then a Master's in economic geography. He later sat for and obtained his certified public accounting designation. Between earning his two degrees Tom served two years on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ, having accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior while a freshman in college. He met his future wife Linda at Crusade's headquarters in San Bernardino, CA. They were married in 1972 in the Student Union at OSU and were devoted to each other for more than 50 years. Tom was interested in politics from a young age using his considerable leadership skills to serve as Oklahoma City Chairman of Teenage Republicans in 1966, Oklahoma Chairman of College Republicans in 1970 and later Chairman of the Oklahoma State Republican Party in 2006-2007. In 1978, Tom was elected Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector defeating 20-year incumbent John M. Rogers, becoming the youngest person ever elected to statewide office in Oklahoma and only the fifth republican elected statewide in state history at that time. Tom modernized the Auditor's office and formed an investigative audit division which cooperated with state and federal prosecutors helping convict numerous Oklahoma County Commissioners in the 1980s, as well as exposing questionable practices in certain car tag agencies, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. In 1980, Tom won the republican nomination for governor but was defeated by incumbent democrat George Nigh in the general election. Tom joined the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen in 1983, working out of its Washington, D.C. office. There he led the first-ever audit of the federal government, developed a new accounting system for the state of Arizona, and helped resolve a major backlog of unreconciled accounts for the Resolution Trust Corporation stemming for the Silverado Bank debacle in 1988. When the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history was declared in Orange County, CA, in November 1994, Tom left Arthur Anderson to serve as interim county treasurer for Orange County to sort out the mess and help the county emerge from bankruptcy without a tax increase, which it did in June 1995. Virtually simultaneously the governors of California and Oklahoma cooperated to allow Tom to serve as Director of State Finance in the newly elected Keating administration. Tom remained with Keating for his entire eight years as governor. Following a change of administrations, Tom moved on to become interim director of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to oversee a reorganization of the agency, then on to the state legislature as Director of the House Office of Budget and Performance Review. Tom resigned from the legislative budget office to run for Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman, winning the post in 2006. For a more detailed account of Tom's career and accomplishments please visit his Wikipedia page at Wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Daxon. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m., Friday, November 18, at Heritage Presbyterian Church, 14500 N. Western Ave., Edmond, OK 73013. The memorial service will be livestreamed. To view the livestream please visit www.heritagepca.org In lieu flowers memorial gifts may be made in Tom's name to the Deacon's Fund at Heritage Presbyterian Church. Tom, 74, is survived by his wife, the former Linda Wright of Emporia, KS; two sons, John Daxon of the home, and Dr. Ben Daxon and his wife Amanda, Rochester, MN, and their three children, Macallan, Gwyneth and Sullivan; and several nieces and nephews across the country. Services are under the direction of the Vondel Smith Mortuary North, 13125 N. MacArthur Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73142 www.vondelsmithmortuary.com