Samuel Thawley

Samuel Thawley is a gold medal-winning olive oil producer based in Umbria, Italy. He has written three novels and is working on two biographies.

Both sides of his family have a long tradition of service—in both the Anglican Church and the Catholic. His grandfather was the dean of a cathedral. His godfather served as both Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the Holy See. David Deutsch, a verger at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., officiated at his wedding somewhere along Cleveland Avenue on a warm, sunny day in late December.

Samuel is married to Trina O’Hara, a painter of classical subjects, especially in the style of Caravaggio, and a photographer who melds past with present in new and interesting ways.

Samuel and Trina are avid dancers and taiko drumming enthusiasts. They attended the adult ballroom dance camp at Brigham Young University. They also joined an intensive Japanese taiko drumming camp in Nagano, Japan, led by Art Lee—the first and only non-Japanese person to be crowned Solo Grand Champion at the Tokyo International Wadaiko Contest.