A heart attack killed Peter Marshall on Jan. 26, 1949, when he was just 46.
However, his widow, Catherine Marshall, wrote a biography of the Scots-American preacher who also served as chaplain to the U.S. Senate - and the 1951 book and 1955 film and stage versions of "A Man Called Peter" have kept his story alive for generations.
Jefferson City's Stained Glass Theatre (SGT) debuts the play tonight, with curtain time at 7:30 p.m.
The play "puts Christianity (and) going to church in a little different light," director Bernie Houchens said. "Peter Marshall believed in having fun. He believed we (all) should be having fun.
"If you're just going through the motions and being 'blah!', you're not doing anything."
And "fun" is the attitude she hopes audiences will get from seeing the SGT production.
"That's what I have really tried to instill in this play," Houchens said. "There's places where it's really over-the-top fun."
Born in Scotland in 1902, Marshall felt a strong calling to become a Christian minister and came to New York City in 1927. He graduated from Columbia Theological Seminary in 1931, and first was called to the First Presbyterian Church in rural Covington, Georgia.
In 1933, he moved to Atlanta's Westminster Presbyterian Church and while there met and, in 1936, married Catherine Wood. Their son, Peter John, was born in 1940.
In 1937, he was called to the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C.
"He was very much a very charismatic (man)," Houchens said. "He did not put up with the traditionalists very well (and) he got into a lot of trouble with the traditionalists.
"But he cared about people."
SGT also staged "A Man Called Peter" in March 2009.
Houchens directed that earlier production, and JoDonn Cheney portrayed Marshall in both productions.
Cheney said, "I'm a very different 'Peter' this time - (but) I'm trying to be the same Peter Marshall (and) mimic who Peter Marshall was."
In 2009, Cheney said he was more focused just on doing a show.
"Now, we're still trying to do that," he said, "but to me, being able to present some of the ideas and themes adequately - as Peter Marshall did - is huge.
"The message in the play is paramount."
Houchens added, "I've matured in those years - my acting, my directing, my everything.
"I wanted my characters (this time) to be more developed - to truly portray this whole play."
Houchens said one of her goals is to highlight the lives and attitudes of the World War II-era when the play occurs - an era she learned about from her parents.
"I want the audience to feel like they're back in the 1940s," she said, "because it was a completely different era."
While society today generally is casual, the 1940s were not, and "we're not casual in this play," Houchens said. "I want it to be a true representation of 'what was it like?'
"Tradition was huge."
Part of the story is how Marshall both upheld and "slapped around" the traditions of the era, she said, working with the young people of the Washington, D.C., community and with the adults - including members of Congress and career-oriented folks.
"They have the same problems we do, facing the same issues," Houchens noted. "It's just a different time frame.
"And to see them make mistakes and learn from them "
An active ministry and active political attitudes run throughout the play - but scheduling the performance in the weeks before the U.S. national elections was a coincidence.
Cheney this year ran an unsuccessful race for the Cole County Public Administrator's office.
"I probably understand the (political) process better than I did eight years ago," he said, "and what Marshall dealt with - his enthusiasm (and) excitement for the process.
"I hope (the audience) sees his heart, through our play."
Tickets are $7 each tonight, and $9 for all other performances.
Audience members also have a chance to bid on two paintings that appear on the Marshall family's living room wall during the production, with the money to benefit SGT operations.
"Peter Marshall collected clocks and seascapes," Houchens said. "One of my cast members and I painted original seascapes" for the set decorations, and those will be offered in the silent auction.
QUICK INFO
What: "A Man Called Peter," adapted by John McGreevey from Catherine Marshall's biography.
Where: Stained Glass Theatre, 830 E. High St. (in the basement)
When: 7 p.m. Oct. 20-21 and Oct. 27-28; 2 p.m. Oct. 22 and 29
Tickets: $7 Oct. 20 only; $9 all other performances; family pass - $36
Reservations: 573-634-5313; www.sgtmidmo.org/reservations; or [email protected]