A Williamsburg icon recently passed away, but when the community gathered at the Kimball Theatre Wednesday for a screening planned in part to honor him, the air was full of life. People enjoyed beers, conversations and laughs in memory of the life and legacy of business owner Tom Power.
The theater’s program manage, Marianne Johnston, planned the event prior to Power’s June 13 passing. She intended to screen a food documentary, “Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent,” followed by a panel comprised of local chefs discussing the film and the Williamsburg food scene. That was still a focus of the evening, but the loss of Power added another layer and an added sense of urgency.
Sister Mary Jeanne, the president of Walsingham Academy, turned out to show her support for the Power family.
“We’re here to honor Tom Power, without question,” she said. “He impacted everyone as a family, as a father. He welcomed everyone, no matter who you are.”
Jeanne frequents the Powers’ restaurants, the Cheese Shop and the Fat Canary. Power’s granddaughter was a student at Walsingham under Jeanne. She became quite familiar with Tom and his family.
“He made you feel like you were the most important person,” Jeanne said. “He touched everyone’s lives so much. How could we reach out and show how much we love him? That’s why we’re here.”
She hopes his passing serves as a reminder of the value of life for those in the Williamsburg community.
“I think he brought his community closer together than we ever were,” she said. “Our lives will never be the same because of Tom and his family.”
Tom Power’s son, Thomas Power Jr., was already scheduled to appear as a panelist prior to the loss of his father because of his family’s roles in the Merchants Square food scene their impact in the greater Williamsburg area.
“I didn’t realize that’s what this was gonna be about until just recently,” he said. “It’s shifted a little bit, but I don’t think completely.”
At the theater, he was surrounded by family and friends, including old buddies he worked alongside at the Trellis decades back, which his father operated with partners John Curtis and Marcel Desaulniers until 1994.
“That’s always sweet,” he said.
Power Jr., remained eager to discuss the film, which chronicles the story of Jeremiah Tower. The chef garnered fame for his mysterious personality and fresh spin on American cuisine in the 1970s and ’80s.
Power Jr., said most films about food focus on the celebrity and the social status. But “The Last Magnificent” is more about Tower’s journey through life.
Desaulniers, a four-time James Beard winner and author of “Death by Chocolate,” also appeared on the panel; Tom Everett, the restaurateur behind Blue Talon Bistro, Dog Streep Pub, the current Trellis and others, also spoke.
Tom Power and his wife, Mary Ellen, patronized the Kimball Theatre for decades, often enjoying films before wining and dining at the Fat Canary afterward. It was a natural choice for such an event. Tom Power’s daughter, Mary Ellen Power Rogers, help organize the panel at the theater.
“What this is, is exactly what we have in our family business,” Rogers said, calling the theater a “small, personal, significant, meaningful gem of a business.”
Wednesday’s proceedings helped shine a light on how far that style of doing business can reach.
“We are in a business where we deal with a lot of people,” said Tom Power’s daughter, Cathy. She always knew her father was a people person. “But we had no idea how much impact he had.”
She was quick to acknowledge her mother as a constant source of guidance and support as well. She also reminisced about how much her father loved to laugh.
“He had a serious side, and he took his business seriously,” she said. But the people he interacted with were consistently at the center of it all.
Cathy Power was grateful that her father went out strong, on his own terms. He died swimming in the ocean while on vacation in Bermuda at age 81.
“We’re saddened and miss daddy,” she said. “But there’s nothing sad about how he lived his life.”
She recalled when her father went snow skiing at 75, something most people that age might avoid.
“He ate food and drank wine,” Cathy Power said. “He lived it. He lived strong and he lived happy.”
Birkenmeyer can be reached by phone at 757-790-3029.
