Our Team

May 8, 2024

It is with a heavy heart that we share that our friend, partner, and colleague Tom Welch passed away on May 8. For the past fifteen years, Tom was the comedic heart of Palisade. He also contributed to the success of Palisade by bringing in new clients and offering them advice and customized solutions, especially to those who had complex trusts as part of their family investment and tax plans. Additionally, Tom provided counsel on all of Palisade’s legal and compliance matters, and most importantly, he was a mentor at our firm.

Steve Landberg, Tom’s long time colleague, reflected, “I was fortunate to have worked with Tom Welch over several decades. His wisdom, leadership, and keen business sense proved instrumental in helping clients and organizations. He lived optimistically, keeping faith, family, and friends his utmost priority. Tom was an exemplary colleague and a dear friend.”

Tom also believed it was important to give back to the community and was privileged to share his expertise on many boards. He previously served as a board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities, Minneapolis Girl Scouts, One Percent Club, Minneapolis United Way, the local units of Tourette Syndrome and NAACP Legal Defense Fund Charities, and two public companies. Tom also served as an expert witness on many trust related court cases.

Most recently, he was the board Chair for MicroGrants. He was the inspiration for their Lights On! program that has Minneapolis Police pass out coupons to individuals to fix their automobiles, an innovation that changed the interaction of police and motorists into one of assistance rather than confrontation. It has been widely adopted in Minnesota and is rapidly gaining acceptance throughout the country.

For all who knew him, Tom was regarded as quite the character and was always quick to greet you with a smile, witty remark, story, or most often, a joke.

Tom’s friend of forty years, Chuck Stoddard, eulogized, “What a legacy…who hasn’t had their lives enriched because of Tom?”

To honor Tom’s Irish heritage, his memorial service concluded with a bagpipe led procession along the streets of Wayzata ending at McCormick’s Pub where a pint of Guiness was enjoyed by all. Tom is survived by his wife Rita, three children, and eleven grandchildren. Tom will be greatly missed by all of us who had the pleasure of knowing him.