Philip L. Thacher

Philip Langworthy Thacher, 101, died Wednesday morning. Born in Waterville, Kans., to Dr. George I. and Lucy Knowles Thacher, Phil moved to Topeka in 1927 where he met and married Octavia O'Neil. They raised three daughters here and remained life-long area residents. His 100th birthday was celebrated privately by his family and also by the larger community with Mayor Bunten declared it "Phil Thacher Week." Once honored as the oldest working Kansan, Phil regularly visited a downtown office he maintained in his building on 6th Street. He had lived independently at the family home he built in 1938 until last autumn when he turned to Brewster Place for additional support.

A prominent local businessman, Phil purchased the Peabody Company, a school and office supply business, in 1936. He changed the name to his own and Thacher, Inc., has remained a successful business ever since. For seven decades he devoted much of his energy to the success of downtown Topeka.

After furnishing schools across the state, he shifted his focus to the design and furnishing of many local bank and office building interiors. He was active in the remodeling of the Union Pacific Railroad Station following the 1950 flood, and was responsible for the design and furnishing of the Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kans. Kansas City projects included the interior of the then-new St. Mary's Hospital and the Kansas City, Kansas, Municipal Building.

His company was invited to join the formative Merchandise Mart in Chicago, now the 10,000 member International Interior Design Association. This visibility served Topeka to great advantage:

Unable to get to and from Chicago as efficiently as he'd like, Phil approached TWA about flights directly into Topeka. His sales pitch was a success and for some time the Thacher, Inc. number was listed in the Topeka directory for TWA – with Phil himself fielding calls and making flight reservations for anyone in need of an airline ticket.

Additionally, the success of Thacher, Inc., led to Phil's construction of the Thacher building at 4th and Monroe, which won the 1968 "Most Beautiful Office Building" award. Phil's efforts to secure tenants for his building lead both Southwestern Bell and later IBM to relocate to Topeka.

Phil was also a significant contributor to the Urban Renewal program of Topeka. His other service included the Board of the Topeka Chamber of Commerce, 20 years on the Fidelity State Bank Board, President of the Mid-America State Fair, President of the Topeka Club, President of the Topeka Country Club and two elected terms on the Kansas State Alumni Board.

Phil joined the Masonic Lodge in Waterville and has retained his membership for decades. He joined Phi Delta Theta while a student at Kansas State University and lived to be honored with that organization's first 75-year pin. His membership in the First Congregational Church is deeply rooted; as a young woman his mother organized the first children's program there at the turn of the century.

Phil is survived by two daughters and their husbands, Becky and Darrel Lowell of Savannah, Ga., Lucy and Vik Jackson of Scottsdale, Ariz., and his son-in-law Bill McNeive of Topeka. He has nine grandchildren – Kate McNeive, Jane Albright, Amy Lowell, David Lowell, Nancy Zimmerman, John Lowell, John Jackson, Trissa Thompson and Stephanie Jackson – and 14 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife in 1998 and by his oldest daughter Sarah McNeive in 2004. In addition, the kindness and faithful support of his professional assistant Jean Keller, and his neighbors Tom and Debra Akins and their daughters have been instrumental in helping Phil maintain the independence and dignity that marked his life; to them his family is particularly grateful.

Phil will lie in state after 2 p.m. Friday at Penwell-Gabel Mid Town Chapel. Family will receive friends beginning at 10:00 a.m., followed by services at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, also at Penwell-Gabel Mid Town Chapel. Burial will take place at Mount Hope Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the charity of your choice.