Pasco ‘Hall of Fame’ administrator, who oversaw construction of several schools, dies
A lifelong Pasco resident, who oversaw construction of several local schools during a time of overwhelming growth, has died.
Tom Brandon died Friday, Nov. 24. He was 80.
The 1961 Pasco High School graduate went on to work for the Pasco School District for more than 40 years before retiring in 2009 after a tenure spent as an administrator and project manager.
He spent more than half his life either as a student or in service of the Pasco School District, advocating for the construction of new facilities and schools.
Toward the end of his tenure, Brandon worked as the district’s project manager on the construction of Chiawana High School.
He grew up in Pasco and played football, basketball and baseball before attending Columbia Basin College and then Western Washington College in Bellingham.
After returning to his hometown, Brandon coached basketball and taught at McLoughlin Middle School. He later served as principal at Captain Gray Elementary and eventually as the school district’s executive director for general operations.
In the 1990s, Brandon oversaw much of the construction of new schools. He was well known throughout Washington state as a school planner.
He was inducted in 1996 into the Pasco High School Hall of Fame.
In 2013, he and his wife, Carolyn Brandon, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They met while attending Pasco Jr. High School in 1958 and married in 1962 following graduation.
Mueller’s Tri-Cities Funeral Home is handling his funeral arrangements.
This story was originally published November 27, 2023 at 2:33 PM.
