Thomas E. Hales, who had a long career in business and finance that included leading Union State Bank and was a leading philanthropist, has died at age 83. He was a Westchester native, having been born in North Tarrytown.
Family members were with him when he died Oct. 8 in Baltimore. Hales had been a patient at the University of Maryland Medical Center. In 2007, Hales had been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and received a double lung transplant at the medical center.
Visitation is today from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Coffey Funeral Home on North Broadway in Tarrytown. A funeral Mass will be held 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Augustine Church in Ossining with entombment to follow in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
Hales graduated cum laude from Iona College in 1958 and later, in 1996, earned a Master”™s Degree in Business Administration from Pace University.
Hales became a certified public accountant while working at Price Waterhouse from 1958 to 1963. He then founded the accounting firm Thomas E. Hales & Co., and after 17 years sold the firm so he could work with companies in Massachusetts. In 1980, he took an interest in Union State Bank.
In a 2011 interview with the Business Journal, real estate developer Ken Torsoe said that when he first met Hales the two immediately hit it off.
“It was at a time when USB was floundering and in need of capital ”¦ we both agreed to put up $1.5 million of our own money to recapitalize the bank. I knew about real estate and investments and Tom was a certified public accountant,” Torsoe said. “Between us, we took USB”™s worth from $800,000 in 1981 to over $3 billion by 2007. Our 26-year relationship helped the bank grow and prosper, and most of all, make a profit for our investors.”
During that time, USB became listed on the New York Stock Exchange. USB was sold to KeyBank in 2007.
When reporting on the sale, the Business Journal quoted Hales as saying, “This transaction provides an opportunity for USB Holding Company shareholders to receive an attractive value for their shares, and it brings Key”™s high commitment to service and world-class products to our communities. While we explored many alternatives, including remaining independent, we feel combining with Key is in the best interest of our clients and employees. Like Union State Bank, Key also has a long and established history of commitment to its communities.”
In 2004, Hales received the Business Journal”™s Business Leader of the Year Award. The year earlier he had received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor Award that recognizes exceptional humanitarian efforts and outstanding contributions to the U.S.
He was the 2008 recipient of the William Cullen Bryant Award from the Westchester Medical Center for distinguished leadership. In 2017, Hales was honored with the John F. Heimerdinger lifetime of service award from Westchester Medical Center.
His numerous other awards from nonprofit and community organizations included the 2017 Corporate Citizen Award from the Boys and Girls Clubs of New Rochelle.
On April 29, 2017, Hales and his wife dedicated an Iona College Residence Hall as the “Alice Marie and Thomas E. Hales Hall,” also known simply as “Hales Hall.”
The family asked that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Thomas Hale”™s name be made directly to University of Maryland Medical Center, Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, Iona College and Phelps Memorial Hospital Center.
