Richard Thomas Brucher

Richard (Dick) Brucher died on May 21, 2026, after a short illness, comforted on his way out by his wife and four children. He was born in Poughkeepsie, NY, on April 10, 1945, to a working-class family. The youngest of three children of Walter Brucher (mechanic) and Elizabeth (Rowan) Brucher (homemaker and office administrator), he attended public school in his hometown of Highland, NY, in the Hudson Valley when there were still orchards, mills, monasteries, and a few estates.

At Lehigh University, Dick studied civil engineering and played football (poorly) for two years before dropping out to work road construction across south central New York with his father. Meanwhile, he earned his BA in English at State University College at New Paltz. He completed his PhD in English Literature at Rutgers University.

Dick taught in the English Department of the University of Maine at Orono for 45 years, retiring in 2019. He formed lifelong friendships with many of his colleagues. A Renaissance and Shakespeare scholar, he taught happily across the English curriculum, from first year composition to seminars in dramatic literature. Dick was well-liked as a teacher, and his commitment to teaching was legendary. A rigorous stylist, he helped students understand what it means to write in college.

Dick believed that good drama, regardless of genre, jolted us out of our complacencies and pushed social action.

A life-long champion of work and workers, Dick was committed to faculty rights and governance. He was a founding member of the Orono chapter of the Associated Faculties of the University of Maine. As president of AFUM, he negotiated several state-wide union contracts and advocated for salary equity across faculty as well as health benefits for spouses and civil partners. He also served on the faculty senate for many years and chaired the English Department for one term.

To sharpen his teaching and gratify his ego, Dick acted in local theatre, first for Marsh Island Stage and then for Orono Community Theatre. He usually played heavy and/or dead fathers, long-winded professors, and thugs. He acted in plays by Sophocles, Shakespeare, and Mamet. His favorite role was Ben, Willy Loman's dead brother in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, staged in the Pavillion Theatre on campus and directed by a former student.

In his 52 years in Maine, Dick embraced the local sensibility of self-sufficiency and hard work. He built horse sheds, fixed barn roofs, mended fences, and obsessed over his woodpiles. He also enjoyed rowing on Lake Wesserunsett and loved music, especially folk, roots, and blues.

Dick looked forward to August when all his children and grandchildren descended on camp from around the country for an intense week of water play, arts and crafts, games, and cookouts.

Dick was immensely grateful for his wife, Elizabeth Payne. He relied absolutely on her wit, wisdom, affection, and impatience with his nonsense.

Dick is survived by Elizabeth Payne, his wife of 38 years; his children Katherine Brucher (Peter DiCola) of Chicago, IL; William Brucher (Annie Johnson) of Wilmington, DE; Margaret Brucher Payne Reynolds (Casey Reynolds) of Washington, DC; and Genevieve Brucher Payne (partner Jackson Frons) of Los Angeles, CA. He is also survived by six grandchildren: Leo, Rosemary, and Juliana DiCola; Matilda and Samuel Brucher; and Theodore Reynolds. Dick was predeceased by his parents, his sister Patricia, and his brother Robert.

Contributions in Dick's memory may be made to the book acquisitions fund at UMaine's Fogler Library or to the Natural Resources Council of Maine.

A celebration of life will be held at the Penobscot Valley Country Club (sorry, Dad) on June 17 at 4:30pm.

Condolences to the family may be expressed at BrookingsSmith.com.