DAVID J. JECMEN

Dave Jecmen died peacefully in his sleep on the morning of Monday, December 15th. For those of you who know him, you will not be surprised to learn that he had a two-week gala performance prior to his final days. His last antics in Memory Care will not be soon forgotten by the wonderful staff that took care of him at the end. Our dad wouldn't have had it any other way--he truly believed it was better to have a bad review of your performance than to have no review at all. He took that philosophy to the end.

When our mom asked Laura to write Dad's obituary, she said he had written it himself. It turns out he provided an old acting resume and a black and white glossy that we had never seen before. Our father would not have wanted himself at 90 as his cover photo, so we will oblige him by posting this one. We actually love it, though it’s new to us. It's not one of his staged headshots; it's just our dad in a time period—probably mid-1970's—when we knew him best.

David Joseph Jecmen was born on August 9th, 1935 in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Czech parents. He was raised with his younger brother, Kenneth, there. Joseph Jecmen, an electrician at SOHIO and Rose, a homemaker, were very unlikely parents to raise someone like Dave. His fondest memories of his father were the times Joe drove him to Cain Park Theater, Chatauqua Repertory Theater, and the Cleveland Playhouse to pursue his dream. Joe may not have understood his son's passion for acting, with semiprofessional performances beginning at age 9, but that did not stop him from helping Dave find his way into theater. He still talked about those memories well into his 80's. Our grandmother’s talent for storytelling, on the other hand, may be the origin of Dad’s flair for drama. We may or may not have famous trapeze artists among our ancestors, for example. As a child, Dave appeared in more than 35 shows as an actor, dancer, and singer, including Lady in the Dark, I Remember Mama, Babes in Toyland and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

In 1954 Dave was graduated from John Adams High School in Cleveland. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Education and certifications for Drama, Speech, and English with a minor in Journalism in 1958 from Kent State University. This is also the place where he met our mom, Mary.

Dad loved to tell the love story of how he met our mother. He saw her walking across campus and told his fraternity brothers that he was going to marry that girl with the long blonde hair someday. They all laughed at him. He finally got his chance to meet her in the production of Finian's Rainbow at Kent State. After their first dance, they spent the next 70 years together. Along with our mother, he got her family as a bonus—he always loved a big audience. Mom introduced Dad to travel, and this became a shared passion. As a family of five we traveled the United States, and as empty-nesters they enjoyed 12 trips to Europe. In return he introduced her to the theater, and she soon sewed costumes and sold tickets for his productions. Dave hired many beautiful actresses, but our mother was always the star.

Dave was lucky enough to get paid doing what he loved most, both by day and by night. By day he taught English, Speech, Drama and Communications, first at Alexander Hamilton Junior High, then South High School and finally John Marshall High School, retiring in 1987. He enjoyed young people and loved watching them flourish, and they returned his love, including one student from 40 years ago, John, who visited him regularly until the end.

By night, Dave was a theater director and producer. He acted in, directed or produced well over 300 shows, at Cain Park Theater, Huntington Playhouse, and the Cleveland Community Center Theater, which he founded in 1965 through the Cleveland Public School Board of Education’s Department

of Recreation. Even before Greenbrier Commons was built, Dave saw himself directing on its stage, and in fact he spent twenty years as artistic director at the Greenbrier Theater (now the Cassidy Theater). After his retirement from the public schools, he would also direct shows and teach theater classes at Cuyahoga Community College West.

Some of Dad's best remembered shows included Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, The Sound of Music, Funny Girl, Cabaret, No, No, Nanette, South Pacific, Applause, Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy, Hello, Dolly! The Music Man, Oklahoma! Annie, Get Your Gun, Mame and The Glass Menagerie. With Jack Roberts, he wrote the musical Ebenezer, based on Dickens’s story A Christmas Carol.

Dave was recognized many times for his outstanding achievements—his John Marshall High School drama department was considered one of Ohio’s finest, and twice he received the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation Grant for conducting Cleveland youth drama workshops. In 2007 he was inducted into the John Marshall High School Hall of Fame, and his 60th year in Cleveland-area theater was recognized by an award from the Ohio House of Representatives. 2024 saw him receive a lifetime achievement award from the Cassidy Theater.

But for all his accolades as a theater director, Dave’s greatest role was as a husband and father. The life he shared with Mary lasted through every trial and joy of 67 years of marriage. It could be a rambunctious household, as he didn’t hesitate to dance with his children through the living room belting out show tunes, whether Bing Crosby’s or Ethel Merman’s, and often wrestled with Geoff after dinner. Old movies and their actors fascinated him, and he passed this down to his children, whose detailed knowledge of The Sound of Music, Gone with the Wind, and White Christmas is impressive to this day.

With all his passion for the theater, Dave recognized others’ passions, wherever they lay, and encouraged them. Each of his children shared a deep love that became a lifelong pursuit, thanks to him: Greg’s career as a museum curator ultimately came from early visits to exhibitions with Dave and Mary; Geoff’s passion for the outdoors came from many long camping vacations Dave took the family on across the country; and Laura inherited Dads flair for the dramatics with a career in sales and like her father took enjoyment in developing young people into future leaders; all unthinkable without Dave’s example as a theater director.

Dave was larger than life. Until his Celebration of Life that the family will hold in 2026, please know that though the curtain may have come down on David Jecmen’s last production here, we have a strong feeling that a curtain has gone up for him somewhere else, and perhaps he’s even singing with The Merm!

David Jecmen is survived by his wife Mary Spacht Jecmen, son Greg Jecmen (William Breazeale), daughter Laura Jecmen-Fink (Rick Fink), son Geoffrey Jecmen, granddaughters Emily and Ella Fink, brother Ken Jecmen (Cathy Jecmen), nieces, nephews and a whole cast of characters