Thomas A. Hine

March 9, 1940 - September 17, 2022

SAN DIEGO — Thomas A. Hine died on September 17, 2022, in San Diego, California. Tom was born March 9, 1940, in Queens, New York, to Henry Hine and Anne Margaret Canning Hine. One of four siblings, Tom, is survived by his brother Phil and sisters Marie and Kathy. Tom spent his childhood in Rockville Centre, New York, on Long Island, and attended grade school at St. Agnes. He loved sports and was on every team. He engaged in high jinx, including with a missing cement mixing tub as a youngster. Tom’s mom died of rheumatic fever when he was 14. He agonized when his granddaughters caught strep throat, knowing it was potentially deadly. Tom’s dad remarried Grace Carlow, and they moved to Denver in 1954. Tom tried hard to lose his New York accent (successfully) because the kids in Colorado made fun of it. He loved skiing and being outdoors. Tom was passionate about camping and experiencing nature and the mountains. He graduated from Mount Carmel High School in Denver; he attended all school activities and excelled in high school debate, a fantastic skill for his eventual career as a teacher and lawyer. In high school, Tom served in the Marine Reserves, doing his basic training at Camp Pendleton, a military path his son also chose. Tom was a proud American serviceman, descended from a union soldier who was shot and killed by a confederate sniper in New York-- the only American to die on duty in the Civil War in New York.

Tom started Regis College in Denver in 1959 and transferred to Colorado, where he earned a B.A. in English Literature. He also received his teachers’ certificate and began instructing in grade school. While teaching, he earned a master’s degree in History and then taught at North High in Denver. Tom met Irene Kress while at Regis College at a dance for Loretto Heights College girls. Tom and Irene married in 1965. Their daughter, Cassandra, was born in 1968. Tom, Irene, and Cass lived happily in Denver until 1973. Tom (while teaching) graduated from Denver Law School, took the bar exam, passed, and started a position as an attorney with the Interior Department at the Solicitor’s Office. This program chose five attorneys every year from the top law graduates in the country. It was also in 1973 that Tom’s son Stephen was born, and the family moved to Falls Church, Virginia. In 1974, he became an attorney advisor at the Department of Energy in D.C. In 1978, he began serving as general counsel at the Western Area Power Administration in Colorado. In 1983, he became the Boulder City, Nevada area manager for Western Area Power. This job included overseeing power distribution at Hoover Dam and marketing the power produced by federal facilities in Nevada, Arizona, and California.

Tom then transferred to Phoenix with Western Area Power. He retired from the government and began working with the firm of Martinez and Curtis. He helped negotiate the Multispecies Conservation Act of the Lower Colorado River Basin, which protects endangered species while maintaining water rights for irrigation districts in the West. Tom and Irene divorced in 1985; Tom remarried Faith Saunders in 2006. His second wife, Faith, died in 2007.

Tom was proud of his grandchildren, John and Ali Ferranninni. He reveled in John’s commencement speech at Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento. He boasted about John’s newspaper career in college and his news editing at KRON in San Francisco. Tom attended his granddaughter

Ali’s graduation at the University of Oregon and delighted in her major— Biology, and of her travels to Japan and Egypt.

Tom moved to San Diego in 2002, shortly after Alanna (Stephen’s daughter) was born. He fell in love with her when he held her in his arms. He stopped smoking so he could live to be a dynamic influence in her life. When Alanna’s sister Michaela was born, he continued the loving grandfathering that was key to her selfconfidence and empathy. He was the perfect history geek/teacher/lawyer as he traveled the world with the Hine family, learning the story of Native Hawaii, indigenous Alaska, and classic Western European civilization.

Tom is survived by his children Cassandra Ferrannini (Andy Ferrannini) of Sacramento and Stephen Hine (Mrs. Michon Hinz Hine) of San Diego, by his grandchildren Ali Ferrannini of Washington, John Ferrannini of San Francisco, Alanna and Michaela Hine of San Diego. He is also survived by his three siblings, Marie Martin (Roger) of New York, Kathy Kindblade of Denver, and Phil Hine of Seattle.

Funeral mass is Thursday, November 10 at 10 am at St. Mary Magdalene Church, 1945 Illion St., San Diego.

Lunch will be provided afterward.

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