Thomas "Tom" Broughton

November 14, 1937- November 12, 2023

On Sunday, November 12, Thomas passed away peacefully at home, just two days before his 86th birthday. Tom was born in San Francisco to Roberta (Brown) Broughton and Cecil Wheatley Broughton. They moved to Seattle where both of his sisters were born; Ann Milliman (spouse John) and Joan Broughton. He attended Laurelhurst Elementary, John Marshall and Eckstein Junior Highs, and Roosevelt High School. His family moved to Crystal Lake Illinois during his junior year of high school and he graduated from Crystal Lake H.S. on June 3, 1955. Immediately thereafter, the family moved back to Seattle in time for him to attend the Roosevelt Senior Prom.

The Broughton family attended St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Laurelhurst, where Tom was a choir member and a proud acolyte. He was a BSA Eagle Scout, building the first of two sailboats as his project. His second boat was named the ToAnJo (after Tom, Ann, and Joan). It was a Geary 18, which he loved to race on Lake Washington. In 1951, Tom was named as Seafair Captain and had the privilege to escort that year’s Seafair Queen.

Tom attended the University of Washington for undergraduate and medical school. He was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. In 1963 he graduated from medical school. He went on to the University of Colorado, Denver to do his residency in pediatrics, where he became Chief Resident in Pediatrics. In 1964 he married Margaret Bovingdon. He served as a Vietnam-era Air Force physician in Cambridge, England; practicing pediatrics. His daughter Elizabeth Wheatley Broughton (spouse Sten Sorby) was born while in England. The couple later divorced. While stationed in England he also did some teaching at Cambridge and co-owned a boutique, with a friend and his wife.

After his military service, Dr. Broughton did a Residency in Psychiatry at the University of Rochester, NY. He then became a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar and a faculty member at the UW School of Medicine, Psychiatry Department. In 1977, while both working at the UW Child Psychiatry Clinic, Tom married Stephanie Zimmerman. They had two children, Sarah Broughton (spouse Jeff Rasnake) and Jonathon Thomas Broughton.

Dr. Broughton transitioned to private practice Psychiatry in the Hawthorne Hills neighborhood of Seattle, where he had an office for over 30 years. In addition to his private practice, he helped develop, as a consultant with Tribal Leaders, Mental Health Care systems in Warm Springs Montana, Neah Bay Washington, Tulalip Washington, and Warm Springs Oregon. Tom also initiated the mental health component of El Centro De La Rasa, a community services organization.

Outside of work, Tom was an avid boater, gardener, bird enthusiast, home chef, traveler, and art collector. Tom was connected to the community of his youth and still attended the alumni reunions for Laurelhurst Elementary and his college fraternity. He is survived by his wife Stephanie, three children (Elizabeth, Sarah, and Jonathon), five grandchildren (Olin and Bergen Sorby; Quenton, Laurel, and Reuben Rasnake), two sisters, two nieces and two nephews. He was a beloved brother, husband, father, grandfather, and community participant whose loss is felt by many. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your local mental health or addiction recovery service organization.

A celebration of life will be held at Evergreen Washelli in Seattle on December 15th, 2023 at 1:00.