OBITUARIES
Community mourns loss of actor, devoted family man Jim Nettles
BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER
Jim Nettles, a gentle, soft-spoken man with an immense talent who brought years of powerful and memorable performances to the stage of the Theatre Workshop, died at Nantucket Cottage Hospital on Wednesday night, Aug. 8, 2007 after a brief illness. Mr. Nettles, who dearly loved his wife of 34 years, the late weaver Margaretta Nettles, and their daughter Anita, said his goodbyes to friends at a special birthday party his daughter gave for him. He was 70 years old on July 22.

ROB BENCHLEY/The Independent file

"There were lots of people there," said Gail Holdgate. "We knew he was sick but none of us knew that night that his time was so short. It was a beautiful way to say goodbye. He gave a beautiful farewell speech and thanked everyone for being there. He talked about how everyone was special to him. Anita took care of him. It's hard to lose your parents, and to lose them at her age of 36 is doubly hard."

Holdgate met Mr. Nettles and his wife many years ago through her daughter Keri's friendship with Anita. She recalled how he took a number of middle school students under his wing and taught them a play they performed at the Methodist Church.

"They formed a group and stayed with it through high school and he was the man who got those kids together and did something good for them. It helped their selfesteem," said Holdgate. "Jim encouraged Keri all along to pursue her talent and now she does professional voiceovers for commercials. She owes that to him."

Beverly Hall met Mr. Nettles and his wife on Nantucket 35 years ago. She visited him at the hospital the evening he died and brought him photos she had taken at his birthday party.

"I gave him a kiss and held his hand. It was a very brief visit but it meant a lot to me to be with him," said Hall. "We went to Sweden together, and they renewed their vows in New Hampshire many years ago and I was with them. We shared Thanksgiving together. The Nettles just loved to cook and they had an extended family on Nantucket. They were very generous to their friends. I watched Jim grow in his family relationship and in his experiences in the theater. There are not many actors who could take the roles that Jim did. The day of Anita's wedding in May last year he walked her down the aisle - that was probably one of his greatest roles - and he performed the service for them. It was quite touching and very moving."

Elizabeth Gilbert met Mr. Nettles when she served on the Theatre Workshop board and expressed deep respect for him as a person as well as a gifted actor.

"I knew him so well. He was a wonderful contributor to the stage. He was a fine, professional actor and a warm and wonderful presence," she said. "He will be missed."

Fellow actors Chris Witte and Neville Richen also had high praise for Mr. Nettles.

"He was a really talented guy and really focused," said Witte. "When we worked on a play called 'The Boys Next Door' about a group home of disturbed adults, Jim played a guy who was sort of detached, but he was so present on the stage his character was remarkable to see. That was one of his roles that may have gone unnoticed. He did 'Driving Miss Daisy,' 'Master Harold and the Boys' and many more."

Richen met Mr. Nettles more than 30 years ago. In 1985 Mr. Nettles performed in one of Richen's off- Broadway plays that was attended by several Nantucket people. The first island play they were in together was Harold Pinter's "The Dumb Waiter" at the Gordon Folger Hotel directed in 1987 by Richard Cary of Actor's Theatre. That same year Richen directed Mr. Nettles and Fritz Warren in "The Veranda." In 2002 Mr. Nettles and Richen founded The Uptown Players with performances at the Methodist Church and more recently did readings of "Patience of Nantucket" at Mr. Nettles' home and at The African Meeting House.

"He was a good friend for many, many years," said Richen, who described Mr. Nettles as a very spiritual person. "When we first heard the news that he had passed away the person I spoke to said, 'When he sat down at the table he brought a big heart and a lot of kindness.' That's how he tried to live his life. That says a lot about who he was and what he was about. It's a great shock and very saddening for my wife and me. Even though we knew he was ill it was a great shock. We took it pretty hard. I'm sure he's shining now doing that performance up there."

A service for Mr. Nettles is being planned. I