Thomas L. Pullen, 82, of Gladstone, Illinois, died at 1:40 p.m. on Saturday, June 20, 2026 at Oak Lane Nursing and Rehab, Stronghurst, Illinois.
Judge Pullen was born in Pecos, Texas on August 29, 1943 to Clarence L. and Verna (Asbury) Pullen. He was raised and educated in Gladstone where his family had lived since 1835. Judge Pullen was a graduate of Union High School, Western Illinois University, and the John Marshall Law School. He served as a captain in the US Army and was awarded a Bronze Star for service in Vietnam.
Pullen was an associate with the Fort & Fort Law Firm in Stronghurst and for eight years was an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, assigned to the then Immigration and Naturalization Service. In 1982, he was appointed as an immigration judge in Chicago, and in 1990 was promoted to the position of Assistant Chief Immigration Judge with supervisory responsibility for the ten immigration courts in the northeast United States. Judge Pullen was selected to become Deputy Chief Immigration Judge in 1997, serving in that position until his retirement. Judge Pullen was an adjunct instructor at the National Judicial College, a Fellow of the National Center of State Courts Management Program, and a member of the Illinois, American, and Federal Bar Associations.
After retirement, Judge Pullen returned to Gladstone and worked in his garden. He had a strong interest in preserving vestiges of Native American sites in Henderson County, as well as the county history subsequent to the arrival of non-native settlers. Although he had a successful career and was able to travel widely, he was most content in his community with his books, plants, friends, and family. When needed, he volunteered for local boards and tasks, believing the success of a just society was dependent on everyone’s participation.
He was also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Henderson County Historical and Genealogy Associations, the Henderson County Library Board, the Henderson County Health Board, and the Oak Lane and Oak Wood Retirement Center Board of Directors.
Having been raised in the Gladstone Methodist Church he was disappointed when the United Methodist Church ruled that a person who lived openly as a gay person was incompatible with the teaching of Christ. He could find no teaching by Christ on the subject of homosexuality or same sex marriage, and felt the church led its members astray on this issue. He maintained his belief in Christ, but not in the church.
Judge Pullen was preceded in death by his parents and his life partner of 39 years, Peter Ferenczy.
Family and friends will begin gathering at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, August 12, 2026 at the Oquawka Cemetery, Oquawka, Illinois. Graveside services with military honors will follow at 12:00 p.m. noon. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Mellinger Foundation, 1025 East Broadway, Monmouth, Illinois 61462 in memory of Judge Pullen. He was one of their first scholarship recipients and wished to help others just as he received. Arrangements have been entrusted to Thomas Funeral Home and Crematory, Oquawka, Illinois.
