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Middletown businessman, humanitarian Thatcher dies

‘We have lost such a part of Middletown,’ says Light Up Middletown founder.

Staff photo Longtime businessman and humanitarian Perry Thatcher died Thursday, Jan. 28, at the age of 79.

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By Rick McCrabb, Staff Writer Updated 1:17 AM Saturday, January 30, 2010

MIDDLETOWN — Perry D. Thatcher, who lost his three-month battle against pancreatic cancer Thursday, Jan. 28, was remembered for his unwavering love of Middletown.

He “died peacefully” at home, surrounded by family and friends, around  9:45 p.m. Thursday, said his longtime assistant Judy Bober. He was 79.

One of those at his side Thursday night was the Rev. Greg Tyus, who served for four years with Thatcher on Middletown City Council. He called Thatcher’s death a tremendous loss for his family and Middletown.

“I think Perry, no, I know Perry had a great love for this city,” Tyus said. “Despite what some people think, he wasn’t really flamboyant with it. Perry did it because he loved this city.”

Tyus said he and Thatcher became “great friends” over the years.

“He knew how I felt about him,” Tyus said. “I’m glad that I told him that.”

Kathleen Wassenich of Middletown, one of Thatcher’s three daughters, said he taught her “to always be fair and to be devoted to my family and to God and to be responsible. He always wanted us to be independent people.”

Her father cared for other people and their well-being and it would “bother him if he felt like people thought otherwise. He never looked down on people. Even though he had so much, you’d never know.”

When asked about Thatcher’s death, Bober said through tears: “My heart ... has a big hole in it, but it will soon be filled up with all the memories and everything he taught me that I’ll be able to use in a lot of different ways.”

She said the city has “no clue” what Thatcher’s loss will mean.

“That’s the frustrating part,” she said. “He always wanted to share a great idea, but they didn’t want to listen. He always said, ‘No and can’t aren’t in my vocabulary.’ ”

Bober said the radiation treatments were killing the cancer in Thatcher’s pancreas, but when he recently returned from receiving the treatments in Nevada, he was unable to get around. Tests performed at Atrium Medical Center showed the aggressive cancer had spread to Thatcher’s lungs.

“He didn’t have to suffer long,” she said.

Adam Cristo, a longtime friend and business associate to Thatcher, said he “lost (his) little buddy” Thursday.

Cristo was in Florida earlier this week, but flew home when he heard Thatcher’s health was rapidly deteriorating.

“They said if I wanted to see him I had better get home now,” he said. “I just made it back in time to hold his hand, give him a kiss and tell him I loved him.”

Cristo and Thatcher have met at O’Charley’s in Middletown for lunch every Tuesday for close to a decade. He said he is not sure that he will ever be able to set foot in the restaurant again.

Their friendship goes back nearly 41 years, when Thatcher attended Cristo’s wedding. They hit it off right away and over the next four decades would grow to be almost brothers.

“I’m a little over-the-hill hellraiser and he’s just this delicate little nerd,” Cristo said. “In some way our curves cross and we just became good buddies.”

Thatcher gave “so much of his life” to Middletown, Cristo said. Between helping the Manchester Inn, a historic hotel and conference center in the heart of downtown, stay afloat and lending a hand to anyone who found himself down on his luck, Cristo said Thatcher gave more to the community than most people realize.

“That little man left a giant footprint in this community,” Cristo said.

Flo Randall, founder of Light Up Middletown, a holiday drive-through lights display at Smith Park, said Thatcher assisted her 11 years ago.

She had raised $55,000 to buy the lights for the display. She needed $80,000.

Thatcher negotiated with the owner of the lights and got the price lowered to $55,000, she said.

And when Randall needed a place to store the light displays during the off-season, Thatcher provided space for free.

“We have lost such a part of Middletown,” Randall said. “He was such a supporter for so much. He never wanted for people to know what he had done, either.

“We have lost a great cheerleader for Middletown.”

The first time Judy Gilleland met Thatcher was when she was being sworn in as Middletown’s city manager. What occurred to her at that point was how “quietly powerful” he was.

“He has been working for the improvement of Middletown for longer than most can remember,” she said. “He has been a humble and effective city leader.”

In addition to sharing ties through city government, Gilleland said Thatcher was a close friend and one-time landlord. When she moved to Middletown, Gilleland rented a room from Thatcher at the Manchester Inn for nearly a year.

Every couple of months, Thatcher came into her office excited with an idea he thought would help re-energize the struggling city.

“He was just an idea guy,” Gilleland said. “He was so full of energy and always was an entrepreneur in the truest sense.”

Merrell Wood, founder of TV Middletown and Sink Or Swim, two organizations Thatcher supported, called Thatcher “a modest man on a mission.”

Thatcher is survived by three daughters, Sheree Garrett of Middletown, Jennifer Thatcher of Boca Raton, Fla., and Wassenich; one sister, Alice Agoston of Middletown; one brother, Arthur Thatcher of Merritt Island, Fla.; his fiancee, Lisa Rupp; and numerous other relatives.

Visitation will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31 at Breitenbach-McCoy-Leffler Funeral Home. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1 at First Baptist Church, 4500 Riverview Ave.

He will be buried at Woodside Cemetery with military honors by the Middletown Combined Honor Guard.

Staff Writer Ryan Gauthier contributed to this report.

Contact this reporter at (513)705-2842 or rmccrabb@coxohio.com.

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