Author Archives: robbucher

3/11/25 – Obituary from Frederick Funeral Home

-From The Friends of TDW Facebook page.

The Drama Workshop regrets to pass along that our dear friend Jim Reuter took his final bow on February 26th at the age of 73 after a lengthy illness.

If you’re a frequent patron at The Drama Workshop, you’ve most likely seen Jim working behind the ticket counter, helping people find their seats as an usher, greeting them at the door, or standing crossing guard duty in the rain. But Jim was far, far more important to TDW than those jobs might infer.

Quite simply put, TDW may not exist today if not for Jim. The workload of having to move everything in and out of the Westwood Town Hall from our basement storage facility in Northside for three shows a season was slowly killing the group. When TDW was attempting to acquire The Glenmore Playhouse, it was Jim who provided the steadying hand to navigate the months of negotiations and the mountain of legal paperwork needed to pull off a multi-property real estate transaction. He and his wife, Tobie, contributed hundreds of hours in transforming the old bowling alley into the space we have today. After the stage was built and audiences started seeing shows here, Jim helped with set builds for nearly every production and worked backstage on more shows than we can count.

But Jim meant far more to TDW than a list of duties and jobs accomplished. He was a gentleman’s gentleman. He had a giving, open-hearted demeanor punctuated by a keen sense of humor that was often preceded by a twinkle in his eye and a mischievous smile. Jim cared deeply about others and would go above and beyond to help when he could. He was kind. He was thoughtful. He was fun. He was loyal. He was tenacious. He was dedicated. Simply knowing Jim made you want to be a better person.

He was our friend, and we loved him beyond measure.

Our thoughts are with his beloved wife, Tobie, his children Miriam, Jeff, and Rachael, his granddaughter Audrey, his soon to be born grandson, and his mother Pauline.