Thomas “Tom” John Henderson was born on June 2, 1952 in Greentree, PA (a suburb of Pittsburgh) to the Rev. J. Hubert Henderson and Eleanor (Allen) Henderson. After graduating from Keystone Oaks High School, he attended the College of Wooster, earning a Bachelor of Arts before attending law school at the University of Pittsburgh. While in law school, he witnessed an abuse of power by a police officer during a protest and was arrested after asking for the officer’s badge number. The charges were subsequently dropped when the officer didn’t show up at trial. From that impactful moment on, Tom continued to be a life-long champion of civil rights, equality, and justice for all. After earning his Juris Doctor in 1977, he was hired by Neighborhood Legal Services of Pittsburgh, where he worked for six years providing assistance to those facing and fighting housing discrimination. He next founded the Law Offices of Thomas J. Henderson in 1983 to continue pursuing his commitment to civil rights, justice, and equality, during which time he also taught as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
In 1990, Tom became Chief Counsel for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Washington, DC. While at the Lawyers’ Committee, he litigated numerous cases on education, environmental justice, voting rights, employment, and housing discrimination. He argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and wrote more than 50 briefs for the Court in other cases. He also argued cases before state level supreme courts and before the federal level appellate courts. Tom testified before House and Senate committees of the U.S. Congress on matters of federal housing policy, briefed members of Congress on public policy and supporting legislation, and even advised White House staff on policy positions.
In 2008 Tom rekindled his private practice, rebranded as the Henderson Law Firm, while concurrently serving as Senior Litigation Counsel for the Sanford Heisler Law Firm in Washington, DC. Here he once again worked tirelessly and fearlessly on civil rights, consumer, and employment-discrimination cases. After many years as part of the civil rights community, he naturally found himself in mentorship positions to others. Graciously offering advice, wisdom, and assistance, many of his friends and colleagues fondly remember Tom for how generous he always was with his time and expertise.
In short, Tom was an attorney par excellence, with an encyclopedic knowledge of the law and its nuances. He lived as he worked, carrying a strong moral vision, true integrity, and a passion for justice. He accomplished much in his life but was never one to grandstand - always humble, authentic, and compassionate.
Tom’s dynamic career in the law was balanced by his interests in the arts and farming. He enjoyed the museums and theaters near Washington, DC, just as he did the fields of West Virginia and Ohio. He supported budding artists, playwrights, and actors as their careers developed, in addition to spending time with fellow farmers in the fields bailing hay and tending to cattle. He enjoyed creating artwork himself, finding peace and relaxation through watercolors and sketching, with ambition to one day meld works of iron.
Tom, above all, loved his family. He came from a strong, close-knit family and made it a priority to be with them as much as possible. He was naturally the central figure in family gatherings, with a unique ability to make everyone laugh at themselves through his legendary, sharp wit - sharp in that it was smart and wise with a playful bite. At the center of his life were his children: Randy, Teisha and Bryce-Edward. He loved being with them, treasured the deep conversations they had, and rarely passed up an opportunity to challenge them to become better versions of themselves. Tom also cherished spending time and talking with his siblings and their spouses: Robert (Susan), Marjorie (Edward), and Richard (Sheila), always showing genuine concern for what was happening in their lives.
Tom is survived by his aforementioned children, Randall Henderson of Washington, DC; Teisha Weatherly of Los Angeles, CA; Bryce-Edward Weatherly of Seattle, WA; his brothers and sister, Robert Henderson of Wadsworth, OH; Marjorie Johnston of Mount Lebanon, PA; Richard Henderson of South Lyon, MI; his nieces and nephews; Robert (Kathy) Henderson; James (Beth) Henderson; Jennifer (Philip) Sabes; Jonathan (Darlene) Henderson; Amy (Matthew) Keller; and James Johnston; along with great nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his parents, J. Hubert and Eleanor Henderson, and his former wife, Shirley Ann Henderson.
