Douglas Joseph Jenkins

Deepest sympathies for Doug's family and friends. I remember his outgoing personality.

Having been married to Doug for 30 years, my memories are many. He was an extremely intelligent and witty man. Doug's love of theatre began when he became a performer at Old Abilene Town where he learned traditional "old west" stunts and gun fighting. He continued what he learned there by performing at Six Flags over Texas. After several years in criminal justice, he returned to the theatre by taking his many years of experience as an actor at Theatre Arlington to Tyler, Texas where he helped to found Actor's Repertory Theatre. In graduate school at Stephen F. Austin State University, Doug discovered his love of teaching. From that time on, his dedication to educational theatre became his professional purpose. While there he also taught theatre courses at the Federal Prison in Rusk, Texas. He also became active in the university's summer theatre program as a director and made many life-long friends. After receiving his Master's degree at SFA, he received a teaching assistantship at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He was also very active in their summer theatre program at the Huron Playhouse and conducted research for his dissertation "Soldier Theatricals" at the National Archives in Washington D.C. . He received his Ph.D. in Theatre in August of 1992. After spending a year as the box office manager at the Kentucky Center for the Arts in Louisville, Kentucky (while I did research for the National Endowment of the Arts and worked for the Louisville Children's Theatre) Doug procured a job at what was then North Adams State College in Massachusetts. Several years later it became Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.While there he directed numerous plays including some that he penned himself. He was very dedicated to his students mentoring many of them to become involved in the national summer historical theatre movement all across the country. He would often travel extensively to visit them at the various venues of these productions as well as to see them perform. Doug's specialties in theatre were stage combat, physical comedy, Greek theatre, and Commedia Dell' Arte. He was by practice a theatre generalist and amassed a great deal of knowledge about not only the the history of theatre and performance, but also about technical theatre and modern theatre literature. His favorite playwrights were Neil Simon and Lope De Vega. His performances in "The Odd Couple,"Bus Stop, "Desert Flower," and old fashioned melodramas were stellar. I have very fond memories of our travels and adventures together. From fishing to traveling through Italy and our many moves across the country while chasing our passion for learning and performing, we had the advantage of being able to follow our bliss. We had lots of laughs, lots of dogs, several wonderful homes, many great friends and too many wonderful memories to list. I will always love Doug and hold him close in my heart. I sincerely hope that his family can find solace in memories of him and in the knowledge that he has finally found the peace for which he so longed after many years of ill health. My heart goes out to all who knew and loved him.

Please accept our deepest condolences for your family's loss.