W. J. Thomas Ferguson

W.J. Thomas Ferguson (Tom) Obituary

Tom Ferguson passed away peacefully in Seattle on October 3, 2025, with his wife, Kristin, by his side.Tom was born to William H and Mary Violet Ferguson in Seattle on August 3, 1942. He was a 1960 graduate of Mercer Island High School, where he played football, as well as piano, entertaining friends with his lively renditions of Fats Domino tunes. Tom attended the University of Washington, majoring in English. He played one year of Husky football, and he was a member and president of Delta Kappa Epsilon.

Tom went on to obtain his law degree at UW and clerked for Charles Powell, a Chief Judge for the US District Court. He began the practice of law at Ferguson and Burdell, working on a wide array of cases, ranging from contracts to corporate to patent law, and he consulted widely on matters of business, construction and real estate.Tom was a partner of Western C. F. Williams in real estate and property management. Their interests ranged from residential to commercial investments throughout the Seattle area, including properties both historical and newly developed. Later, he formed Ferguson Property Management, working together with Kristin for many years.

He leaves a legacy to the University District in particular, with the carefully restored and maintained Wilsonian Apartments, a designated Seattle landmark, and the beautifully conceived development of its sister property, the Lothlorien.Tom served on the board of Eastside Mental Health, and he partnered in and advised numerous business ventures including, among others, VIOX Corporation. Throughout his legal career, Tom was a valued and trusted advisor to his business clients, many of whom became lifelong friends. Tom was also a long-standing member of the Seattle Yacht Club and the Rainier Club.In addition to the time he devoted to hosting friends, family, associates, and neighbors, Tom had two great passions: sailing and reading.

Through the 1970's Tom enjoyed cruising the Salish Sea and Desolation Sound aboard Queen's Reach. In 1984, he commissioned the build of his great love, Arwen Evenstar, a custom Dickerson 50 built in Maryland. He brought Arwen to Seattle by way of the Caribbean Sea and Panama Canal in 1984-85. He later adventured across the Atlantic over several crossings and many years, exploring northern European coastlines as far as Denmark, the Mediterranean Sea as far as Turkey, and back at long last to Seattle, as Arwen undertook her second transit of the Panama Canal. Aboard Arwen, Tom visited no fewer than 84 US states and countries over a period of four decades.

Tom's library was vast in depth and breadth. He alternated light reading with works of philosophy, science and history, at last completing The Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant. The classics were intermingled with mysteries, science fiction, and an annual reading of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He dabbled in poetry, honoring a dream of his youth to be named "Poet Laureate," and he wrote essays of thoughts philosophical and humanist, not to mention a lifetime of legal briefs.Tom thought deeply about the needs of next generations. He mentored young friends in law and business and took great joy in their successes. Together with Kristin, Tom brought his children and grandchildren together annually for cherished family reunions, nurtured family discussions of ethics and values, and created opportunities for the practice of charity and financial literacy.

His generosity extended to funding educational opportunities, not only for his children and grandchildren, but for dear friends whose dreams he strove to support.Tom was the beloved husband of Kristin Ferguson; brother of Sandra Boyd; father of Teresa (Tia) McLaughlin, Linda Burns, and Shawn Ferguson; and grandfather of Alice, Cae, Maeve, Charlie, Andrew, and Quincy. In his daily life, Tom embodied the Ferguson family motto: It's about character. We are what we regularly do.Tom will be remembered for his optimism, his talent for storytelling, his spirit of generosity, his life-long love of learning, and his faith in humanity.

A service will be held at 2:00 pm at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church in West Seattle on Saturday, 11/01/2025. In lieu of flowers you may make a donation either to SJB Episcopal Church or to Food Lifeline. 

Please share memories & photos of Tom on the guestbook, located below.

www.emmickfunerals.com/obituaries/w-j-ferguson 

Arrangements Entrusted to Emmick Family Funeral Home of West Seattle