Allen Thomas Brisendine

Allen Thomas (Tom) Brisendine, Jr., a prominent tax attorney who specialized in executive and deferred compensation issues, passed away on March 7, 2015, in Woodbridge, Virginia.

Tom was born in Griffin, Georgia, to the late Gussie (Jimmerson) Brisendine and the late Allen Thomas Brisendine, Sr. As a youth he was actively involved in boy scouts, spending most summers at Camp Thunder in Molina, Georgia, first as a camper, then as a staff member. He was an Eagle Scout and a member of the Order of the Arrow which awarded him the Distinguished Service Award in 1963.

Tom attended four boy scout jamborees and worked as a trail guide at Philmont National Boy Scout Camp in New Mexico. In 1961 he represented the southeastern area of the United States in a “Report to the Nation”, a celebration of the Boy Scouts’ 51st Anniversary – a highlight of the commemoration was a meeting with President John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office. He continued his association with the scouts as a troop leader in El Paso, Texas, a cub scout pack leader and as a District Commissioner in Springfield, Virginia.

Mr. Brisendine received his BA and JD degrees from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and served in the US Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG) for four years ending his military service as the legal advisor to the Army’s Conscientious Objector Review Board in 1973. He then served as a legal assistant to Congressman John J. Flynt, Jr. of Griffin Georgia.

Mr. Brisendine enjoyed a rewarding 22-year career with the Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service where he gained a deep understanding of tax policy considerations associated with executive compensation issues, their regulations and underlying implications. As a nationally recognized speaker on executive and deferred compensation, he was a featured lecturer at American Bar Association, ALI/ABA, AICPA and other continuing education events.

After retiring from the IRS in 1996, Mr. Brisendine joined Deloitte & Touche LLP, as a Director in the Washington National Tax practice, where he authored and co-authored over 20 articles on executive compensation topics. In addition, he co-authored BNA Tax Management Portfolio 385 on Deferred Compensation Arrangements, a 2002 publication still in use. He was a Fellow of The American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, and a member of the American Bar Association and the State Bar of Georgia. He also served on the WEB National Advisory Committee.

Following his retirement from Deloitte in 2004, Mr. Brisendine served as an expert witness in litigation involving Ponzi schemes. He has also worked as a volunteer with Stop Child Abuse Now of Northern Virginia (SCAN), traveled extensively, enjoyed monthly meetings of his ROMEO (Retired Old Men Eating Out) Club and proudly pontificated at biweekly meetings of armchair Democratic policy strategists.

Survivors include his wife of 47 years, Trudy Widdicombe Brisendine; two sons: Thomas Scott Brisendine (Rebecca Ann) of Little Rock, Arkansas, and David Reed Brisendine (Jennifer) of Ligonier, Pennsylvania; three grandsons, Aidan Carter Brisendine, Alec Murphy Brisendine and Perry Streett; two granddaughters, McKinley and Hanah Streett; one sister, Rebecca Ann Goolsby (Bobby) of Griffin, Georgia and numerous brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews.