Remembering Thomas J. Sweeney, 1951-2025
One year after closing his Jefferson Square framing shop, Tom Sweeney has died. His family is sharing this remembrance:
Thomas J. Sweeney
February 11, 1951 – May 14, 2025Tom died in his sleep after an eleven-year battle with cancer. He fought the good fight right up to the end and we are so very proud of him.
Tom grew up in Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island, the oldest of four brothers. As a child, young Tom would take the ferry to Seattle alone on Saturdays to go to the YMCA and walk up and down First Avenue looking into the army navy stores, G.O.Guy, and all the old institutions of Seattle. His family moved to Bellevue in his teens and he was in the first graduating class of Interlake High School in 1969.
After attending college for a few years (WSU and BCC), Tom was a long-haul trucker across the Southern United States in addition to working harvests in Eastern Washington. One day on a whim he answered an ad for U-Frame-It and found his true calling, picture framing. He managed the UFI shops in Bellevue and Ballard before opening his own shop in West Seattle in 1992, where he created beautiful art for his customers until retiring in 2024.
Tom’s love of family was evident in everything he did. He and his wife Merrilyn raised their daughters to respect all human rights and to strive for equality. He was so proud of both of his daughters for dedicating their careers to social justice.
Tom loved watching the Mariners with his girls, and was a Seattle Sonics season ticketholder; after their sale, he never again set foot in a Starbucks. He was an avid skier and marathon runner. He was a voracious reader and music lover, enjoying genres of all kinds. He was interested in everything and, most importantly, he was an honorable man.
Tom is survived by wife Merrilyn, daughters Lily and Julianna (James), brothers Matthew, Jay and Kent, their families, and countless friends who meant the world to him.
Family was everything to Tom. He will be so very missed.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries and memorial announcements by request, free of charge. Please email the text, and a photo if available, to westseattleblog@gmail.com)
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