Thomas E. Leavey

Thomas E. Leavey (1897-1980) was an American business executive, rancher, and philanthropist.

Early life[]

Born near Ferndale, Humboldt County, California to Irish immigrants, he attended Santa Clara University and served briefly in the U. S. Army during the final months of World War I.^[1] In 1923, he received a bachelor's degree from the Georgetown University School of Law and relocated to Los Angeles two years later.

Career[]

In 1928, he co-founded the company that became the Farmers Insurance Group with .

Philanthropy[]

With his wife, Dorothy Leavey, he established the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation in 1952. The Leavey Foundation has donated more than $100 million to support educational, religious, and other institutions.

Death[]

He died on March 29, 1980, at the age of 82. Dorothy Leavey died in January 1998 at the age of 101.

References[]

1. Dunkley, John. A History of the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies. Los Angeles: Farmers Insurance Group, 1993.
2. Brown, Kathi. Sound Thinking and Lofty Ideals: The First Seventy Five Years of Farmers Insurance. Los Angeles: Farmers Insurance Group, 2003.
3. ‘Welcome to Old West End’ by James Pegolotti; The Humboldt Historian: Vol. 56, No. 3; Fall, 2008.
4. “The Personal File of Thomas E. Leavey.” (A brief memoir compiled in the 1970s and preserved in the Thomas E. Leavey Archives.)

External links[]

• history of Farmers Insurance Group at their website accessed 2010-12-05.
• obituary of Dorothy Leavey in LA Times Jan. 9, 1998. Retrieved 2010-12-05.