Thomas Laverne (March 7, 1917 – August 8, 1994) was an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

He was born on March 7, 1917, in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

. He graduated from the New York State College for Teachers in 1939, and then taught school. In 1942, he married Mary Saunders and they had four daughters. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

and was awarded the

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of ei ...

. He graduated from

Cornell Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, it offers four law degree programs, JD, LLM, MSLS and JSD, along with several dual-deg ...

in 1948, and practiced law in Rochester. He lived in

Irondequoit Irondequoit is a town (and census-designated place) in Monroe County, New York, United States. As of 2019, the coterminous town-CDP had a total population of 50,055. Irondequoit is a suburb of the city of Rochester, lying just north and east o ...

. Laverne was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

from 1961 to 1972, sitting in the 173rd, 174th, 175th, 176th, 177th, 178th and

179th New York State Legislature The 179th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6, 1971, to May 12, 1972, during the thirteenth and fourteenth years of Nelson Rockefeller's governorship, in Albany ...

s. In June 1972, after re-apportionment, he ran in the 53rd District for re-nomination, but was defeated in the Republican primary by Gordon J. DeHond. In September 1974, he defeated DeHond in the Republican primary for re-nomination. At the senate election in November, both Laverne and DeHond (running on the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

ticket) were defeated by Democrat John D. Perry. Laverne died on August 8, 1994, in St. Mary's Hospital in

, of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laverne, Thomas 1917 births 1994 deaths Politicians from Rochester, New York Republican Party New York (state) state senators Cornell Law School alumni University at Albany, SUNY alumni 20th-century American legislators Military personnel from Rochester, New York Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Lawyers from Rochester, New York 20th-century American lawyers