Obituary of Charlie Thayer: The Thayer Family Remembers
By Moksha Akil
Described as a “quirky, funny person” by his daughter Kymme Thayer, Charlie Thayer invigorated the lives of his family and others through both his competitive nature and his principles while writing for the Exeter Newsletter.
After playing on the undefeated team of 1962 at UNH, Thayer went on to work at the paper company Georgia-Pacific. However after learning about the ethics of the company and realizing that he would have to travel, Thayer moved to Exeter to work at his father’s newsletter and build his family. “We were newlyweds, but it meant that when we had a family, we would just be moving all over the country and it was totally unacceptable,” spouse Patsy Thayer said. “So when there was a space open at the newsletter, Charlie went to his dad, was interviewed and he just loved it.”
While working on the Newsletter, C. Thayer took his role very seriously. “He understood the gravity, I think of reporting things to the community and doing it in a way that was not unduly over sensationalizing things,” K. Thayer said. “My dad was very cognizant of the effect that the media had on the community’s view of people.”
He and his brother took over the Newsletter after his father retired and later sold the publication in the 80s. While the Newsletter was an important time in his life, C. Thayer had an impressive athletic career in college and continued it after graduating. “[His athleticism continued on because] my dad was a very, very competitive person.” K. Thayer said.
Competition was very prevalent in the Thayer household during K. Thayer ’s childhood which showed during backyard croquet games and games of Candy Land. As a father, C. Thayer was playful and took pride in playing with his daughters throughout their childhood. “He was very playful and loved just wrestling with the girls and playing games with them,” P. Thayer said. “And they would sit on him and do his hair while he was watching a football game when they were younger.”
Thayer’s quirky personality was an influential part of his role as a father and husband. P. Thayer recalled a memory of C. Thayer when she was pregnant with their first child. “When my first child was born, he was determined that he was coming into the delivery room and he was going to be there for the whole thing,” she said. “And we went to Lamaze classes to learn how to deliver the baby without any medications, he was really into it.”
Along with being a dedicated father, C. Thayer was a proud athlete. During the 50 year anniversary of his 1962 team, they honored all of the players during UNH homecoming. “My dad was so proud to be a part of that and proud to be walking out onto the field for that.” K. Thayer recalled.
He continued with athletics throughout his adult life by playing tennis at a tennis club. C. Thayer’s introduction was during an exhibition and soon he became captivated. He played both singles and doubles, and was heavily influenced by Hammy Bissell. “That was his passion outside of work.’ K. Thayer said.
Athletics continued to be very important to C. Thayer. According to P. Thayer, “He [would] readily admit that he never would have got through school if it hadn’t been for athletics because it was structured.” However, English was a gift of his as well which carried over to the Newsletter.
“He was not one who would sit down and write his thoughts or keep a journal or anything like that, but he had a very good command of the English language,” P. Thayer said. She recalled how C. Thayer would give her advice on which words to use and wrote a letter to a young boy in need of guidance.
While athletics and his family were very important to him, the Newsletter allowed C. Thayer to build his family in Exeter and connect with his brother. K. Thayer concluded, “I think my mom would say that that was probably the happiest he ever was professionally was when he was with the newsletter.”
