Neil Graham Thatcher, known statewide and nationally for acting and directing, passed away Thursday. Together, he and his wife developed a theater program for continuing legal education that focuses on ethics and values that are still used in classrooms today.
Neil Graham Thatcher started acting when he was five. He appeared in and directed over 150 plays. Thatcher met his wife of 48 years working at the Black Hills Playhouse.
Anna Marie Thatcher says they collaborated well together.
“He had talents that I didn’t have but when we put those together there was a kind of artistic synergy that was really amazing to discover later in our marriage. And that’s what really worked for us in the last years of working together here.”
They used their skills to create Periaktos Productions, educating people in law. The couple received the Governor's Award for Outstanding Support of the Arts by Individuals in 2017.
But Anna Marie says her husband’s legacy extends beyond theater.
“He left a great legacy with students and at the core of everything he did was that he was a teacher, he was an educator. Whether it was in the classroom whether it was on the stage, whether it was individually mentoring someone or giving someone advice or directing. Even under all those hats, the common core was that he was always a teacher. And he was a wonderful teacher. ”
Thatcher says her husband was never short with people and always respected them and their talents.