Obituaries — 2008

Maxine Kurtz
Maxine Kurtz, the first woman to organize and direct the planning department of a major American city, died November 4, 2008.

Kurtz became head of the Denver Planning Office in 1947. She is also known for persuading the government of Denver and its neighboring suburbs to enter a historic water sharing agreement in return for concessions in sanitation, zoning, and building.

Kurtz is the author of two books about her experiences in city planning and human rights: Invisible Cage, A Memoir (2005) and City of Destiny: Denver in the Making, with Ralph Conant.

A memorial service was held November 12, 2009, at the Jewish Community Center, 350 S. Dahlia, Denver, CO 80246. Donations in her memory may be made to a cause of the donor's choice.

Morris B. Fleissig, AICP
Morris Fleissig, a national leader in public housing, urban renewal, and planning, died in October 2008 at the age of 93.

Mr. Fleissig was vice president of Candeub, Fleissig & Associates, the country's largest planning firm in the 1960s. His family remembered him for his love of family and friends and his great concern for social justice.

Contributions in his name are welcome to the Center for an Urban Future (www.nycfuture.org) or Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (www.jfrej.org). Services were held October 12, 2008, at Plaza Jewish Chapel in New York City.

Norman Marcus
Norman Marcus, long-time general counsel to the New York City Planning Commission, died June 30, 2008, in his Manhattan home at the age of 75.

The New York Times called Mr. Marcus "master of the labyrinthine codes and designations — the R8s and C7s — that list the rules on square footage, height, air rights, parking requirements, types of businesses and even exposure to sunlight that govern construction in a given area."

Mr. Marcus graduated from Columbia College in 1953 and earned his law degree from Yale University in 1957. After several years of practicing law in the private sector, he joined the New York City Department of City Planning in 1963 as general counsel. Previously, the mayor's corporation counsel had served as legal adviser to the department. He served as counsel of city planning until 1985.

He is widely credited for inaugurating the zoning special district to address locally unique needs, beginning with the Theater District, where zoning was used to create new Broadway theaters, and Lincoln Square, where he shepherded what has come to be known as inclusionary zoning.

Mr. Marcus was also an advocate for preserving the past. He pioneered the transfer of development rights mechanism and created a powerful tool to assist in the protection and maintenance of designated landmarks. The Supreme Court cited these provisions in upholding the landmark status of Grand Central Terminal, and also cited in its decision Mr. Marcus's article in the Law and Contemporary Problems Journal of Duke Law School.

Mr. Marcus is survived by his wife, Maria Lenhoff; two daughters; a son; and four grandchildren. A memorial service was held July 8 at The Riverside Chapel.

Charlotte Thompson, AICP
Charlotte "Tommie" Thompson, a long-time activist and Cincinnati city planner, died June 25, 2008, at the age of 72.

In the 1960s, Ms. Thompson helped organize the Community Council in Kennedy Heights that was dedicated to integration of the racially changing community in which she and her husband were raising their three children. She also worked in the Cincinnati Public Schools as ombudsman/school community aide.

She obtained a master's degree in community planning and spent 27 years as a planner for Cincinnati. As a planner, Ms. Thompson was largely responsible for the Cincinnati city council devoting a portion of its budget for human services and in the establishment of an Office of Human Services in the administration. Later she dedicated her efforts to working for fair and equitable housing practices for all city residents.

She was a member of numerous community and activist organizations, ranging from the YWCA and the Girl Scouts to anti-death penalty and anti-war groups. She served on the social justice committee of First Unitarian Church for many years.

"She inspired so many of us and reminded all of us to be consistent and hopeful in our battles to 'do the right thing' and include everyone in our lives as full members of the community whose voices and ideas were valuable," said her friend Leslie McNeill.

Ms. Thompson is survived by her father, three children; her partner, Ben; a brother and a sister; and nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held September 27 at First Unitarian Church.

Memorial contributions may be made to First Unitarian Church, 536 Linton St., Cincinnati, OH 45219; Girl Scouts, Great Rivers Council, 4930 Cornell Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45202; or Woman's City Club, 108 Taft Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45219.

Chester Smolski
Chester Smolski, retired professor of urban studies at Rhode Island College, died Sunday, June 22, 2008, at the age of 81.

During Professor Smolski's long career at Rhode Island College, he co-developed and coordinated the Rhode Island Geographic Education Alliance, a project of the National Geographic Society. He taught at the college for 41 years before his retirement in 1994. In his retirement, he worked as a volunteer at Rhode Island Free Clinic. An acknowledged expert on urban affairs, he was a frequent guest columnist for The Providence Journal and Providence Business News, as well as a contributor to numerous academic publications.

Professor Smolski served as a Marine during World War II, where he fought in the battle of Okinawa and was awarded a Purple Heart.

Professor Smolski is survived by his wife, Theresa; four children; and five grandchildren. A service was held at the Veteran's Cemetery in Exeter. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Rhode Island Free Clinic, 655 Broad St., Providence, RI 02907.

Tamara J. Babcock
Tamara Babcock, 48, died June 16, 2008, in Hastings, Nebraska, where she was director of developmental services.

A native of Michigan and Kansas, Ms. Babcock received a Master's of Environmental Policy degree in 1984 from Indiana University. She had been the Hastings director of developmental services since 2001. She also served as recording secretary for the Nebraska Planning and Zoning Association for six years.

She is survived by her husband, Robert; two children; her parents; and two brothers. A memorial service was held June 21, at First Presbyterian Church in Hastings. In lieu of flowers, memorials be given to the Tamara Canfield Babcock Fund at the Hastings Community Foundation Inc., 800 West 3rd St., Room 232, Hastings, NE 68901.

Kenneth Greg Niles
Kenneth Niles died May 31, 2008, in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the age of 44. He was the planning and development director for Guilford County.

Shortly after graduating from Washington & Lee University in 1985, Mr. Niles joined the Peace Corps and was assigned to the Island of Cebu in the Republic of the Philippines where he specialized in community water projects. Mr. Niles's career in municipal planning included positions with Otsego County in Cooperstown, New York, the city of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the city of Marco Island, Florida before assuming the position in Guilford County in 2005.

He is survived by his wife, Claire; their three sons; his mother; and a brother. A funeral service was held on June 5 at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. Contributions may be made to the Greg Niles Educational Fund at any Bank of America.

Paul C. Crawford, FAICP
Paul Crawford, a nationally known new urbanist, died in San Luis Obispo on May 21, 2008, after a 17-month battle with a brain tumor. He was 60.

Mr. Crawford's career began when he was an associate planner for the County of San Luis Obispo in 1975. In 1980, at 33, he became the youngest planning director in the state. He served in that post until 1990, when he co-founded the planning consulting firm Crawford, Multari & Clark Associates, where he worked until his final days. Mr. Crawford also taught planning at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo from 1980 to 2006 as an adjunct professor.

Mr. Crawford consulted extensively with cities and towns in Central and Northern California, preparing general and specific plans and zoning ordinances. He and his work were known across the state and nation. He was actively involved in the Congress for the New Urbanism and the Form-Based Codes Institute, of which he was the founding board chair. He was a pioneer in developing the practice of form-based codes as an effective alternative to conventional land-use planning and zoning.

With Daniel and Karen Parolek, Mr. Crawford co-authored the textbook Form-Based Codes: A Guide for Planning, Urban Design, Municipalities, and Developers (John Wiley & Sons, 2008).

Mr. Crawford is survived by his wife, Linda; four children; three grandsons; six brothers and sisters; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial service was held May 25, at the Spanos Theatre on the Cal Poly campus.

A tribute to Paul Crawford from the California Planning Roundtable

Ned Langford
Ned Langford, 81, the first planning director of the City of Medford, Oregon, died of congestive heart failure on May 14, 2008.

Mr. Langford served in the U.S. Army in the occupation of Japan and then later attended UCLA, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in geography in 1951. In 1957 he moved to Oregon where he went on to become the first planning director for the City of Medford, Oregon.

In 1965, he became a partner in the planning and architectural consulting firm Edson, Patterson, Langford & Stewart. In 1975, he left the firm and spent the rest of his career as a planning director and planning consultant in the Portland area and in Washington State.

In 1957, at a Chamber of Commerce Roundtable he said "we stand on the threshold of a period of rapid growth in Medford. We can't stop it. We must instead plan for it." That is what he dedicated his life to. Ned loved to snow ski and spent every weekend and vacation at Mt. Ashland and many other western ski areas. In his later years, he spent his time playing tennis and was a member of the Southern Oregon Tennis Club until his death.

He is survived by his daughter, Jan Garcia; sons, Jack and Bill Langford; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. A memorial service was held at Bethel Church on June 7, 2008. Memorial contributions may be made in his name to the Ellen Crenshaw Scholarship at North Medford High School.

William Jennings Ruffing
Jennings Ruffing, a member of the Medford, Oregon, Planning Commission, died March 9, 2008, at the age of 56 after a short battle with cancer.

Mr. Ruffing served on the planning commission for five years and was recently recognized by the mayor for his years of service. Throughout the years, he attended more than 150 commission, subcommittee, and study meetings.

As a young adult he attended the University of Northern Colorado and graduated in special education. He spent four years in the U.S. Navy, then joined his father's business, an electrical contracting and construction company, where he developed the firm into a highly respected company. During this time he also served as a volunteer firefighter. He later attended the University of Wyoming, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.

Mr. Ruffing is survived by his wife, Becky; mother, Bess; sisters, Mary and Judy; and brother, John. He is preceded in death by his sister, Pat; and father, William Jennings.

A memorial service was held at Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Ashland, Oregon, on March 14. In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to one of Mr. Ruffing's favorite charities: World Vision, Mercy Corps, Trinity Episcopal Church Outreach Program, or any program that supports the poor or homeless.

Ann Marie DeRisi
Planner Ann Marie DeRisi, of Crown Point, Indiana, died Wednesday, March 5, 2008, She was 78.

Ms. DeRisi  worked for 38 years as a planner for the Lake County (Indiana) Planning Commission. She is survived by four sons: David, Douglas, Christopher, and Thomas; six grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. She was preceded in death by her husband, Frank C. DeRisi, in 1995.

Funeral services were held Saturday, March 8, at St. Matthias Catholic Church in Crown Point, Indiana. Interment was at St. Mary's Cemetery in Crown Point.  Memorials may be given to St. Anthony Hospice.

An online guestbook is available

Craig Arden Lawrence
Craig Lawrence, director of planning and development in Chestermere, Alberta, died in a traffic accident on February 23, 2008, at the age of 34.

Mr. Lawrence was formerly assistant town planner in Essex, Vermont. He was a graduate of the urban studies program at the University of Calgary and the Master of Urban and Rural Planning program at Dalhousie University.

Friends say that the planning community has lost one of its "planners extraordinaire," a man who devoted most of his time to improving the quality of people's lives in the communities where he lived. In addition to a successful planning career, Mr. Lawrence was a volunteer firefighter/EMT, serving the communities and residents of Essex and, subsequently, Chestermere on nearly a daily basis.

Mr. Lawrence was a voracious reader, fitness aficionado, skilled hockey player, devoted movie fan, and amateur Lego construction engineer. He was blessed with an infectious smile, enthusiastic laugh, gentle heart, and offbeat sense of humour.

He will be remembered as a husband, son, brother, grandson, and uncle, dear friend, and engaged citizen.

The online guestbook for Mr. Lawrence

Melville C. Branch, FAICP
Distinguished planner, planning educator, and author Melville Branch died February 11, 2008, at the age of 94.

Throughout his long career, Dr. Branch helped establish university planning programs and taught in them, served on the Los Angeles planning commission, worked in private practice, and authored more than 20 books. He was the first graduate student to earn a doctoral degree in regional planning at Harvard University, in 1949.

Dr. Branch was inducted into the College of Fellows of AICP in 2000. At the time of his induction, he was recognized for his teaching at the University of Southern California and his work in establishing the Bureau of Urban Research at Princeton, the graduate program of education and research in planning in Chicago, and the school of policy, planning, and development at USC.

"Melville Branch was one of the patriarchs of city planning," Tridib Banerjee, a professor of urban and regional planning at USC, told the Los Angeles Times. "He was a giant in the field. Our school is very much associated with his name."

During his nine years as a member of the Los Angeles Planning Commission, including one year as its president, Dr. Branch often met with real estate developers hoping to build housing with inadequate plans for traffic, with neighborhood residents concerned about the proliferation of gas stations near their homes and with similar groups.

His theory on how to solve urban growth problems included a view from above. One of Dr. Branch's first books was Aerial Photography in Urban Planning and Research," published in 1948. For APA's Planners Press he wrote the classic Comprehensive City Planning, which focuses on the development of cities and how they have been planned and managed through the ages.

Dr. Branch was born in Richmond, Virginia. He graduated from Princeton University and earned a master of fine arts degree at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in France in 1934. He also spent a year doing independent research in planning at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan before going to Harvard. He served in the Naval Reserve from 1943-1946, reaching the rank of lieutenant.

He married Hilda Rollman in 1951. Along with his wife, he is survived by a stepdaughter, Veronica Kaufman of Sacramento, and several nieces and nephews. He retired from teaching in 1993.

A memorial service is planned for later this year.

Robert C. Bainbridge, IV, AICP
Robert Bainbridge, a planner for Prince William County, Virginia, died February 8, 2008, after a five year battle with colon cancer. He was 56.

In addition to his planning position with Prince William County. Mr. Bainbridge was liaison to the Prince William County Historical Commission and worked most closely with the Brentsville Historic Trust.

Mr. Bainbridge began his professional career in Wilson, North Carolina, as city arborist and city planner. He moved to Washington, D.C., in 1985 to work for Dewberry & Davis in Fairfax, Virginia, and later for Greenhorn & O'Mara in Greenbelt, Maryland. He also acted as a consultant to members of the Historic Preservation Committee in Lewes, Delaware, where he and his partner restored a historic home.

He is survived by his father; his partner of 20 years, Vincent; a sister and a brother; and an aunt.

A memorial service was held at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Lewes, Delaware, on March 29. Memorial contributions may be made to the Friends of Lewes Canal Front Park, 211 Front Street, Lewes, DE 19958; Delaware Hospice, 20167 Office Circle, Georgetown, DE 19947; or Capital Hospice, Attn: Development Office, 6565 Arlington Blvd., Suite 500, Falls Church, VA 22042.

Rodney Earl Engelen
Planner Rod Engelen, who devoted his professional life to the policies and issues of urban function, died February 8, 2008, at the age of 80.

Mr. Engelen was born in Parkston, South Dakota. He studied architecture at the University of Minnesota and urban and regional planning at Harvard University, graduating in 1953. Over a period of 40 years, he worked for numerous public agencies in both staff and consulting roles. He worked extensively in the upper Midwest, including City of St Paul downtown redevelopment plans, development of the first central area plan for the city of Minneapolis, major work for the city of Chicago, various federal agencies, and more than 75 cities throughout the US and Canada. also worked as an advisor to the City of Phoenix, with responsibility for downtown and urban corridors.

Mr. Engelen traveled widely and continued to enjoy photography, politics, reading, and his computer throughout his retirement. He was an active supporter of Boy Scouting, the American Civil Liberty Union, the Unitarian Church, and numerous liberal political campaigns and causes.

He is survived by wife Cynthia; children Derek, Peter, and Heidi; and five grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Audrey Hope Naas, who died in 1998.

A memorial service was held February 13, 2008, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix. Memorial contributions may be made to the UU Foundation of Phoenix or Hospice of the Valley.

The online guest book for Mr. Engelen

Aaron David Klem
Aaron Klem, 24, a planner in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, died February 2, 2008.

Mr. Klem was a graduate of Western Kentucky University, where he received a bachelor of science degree in geography.

He is survived by his parents, a sister, and his maternal grandparents. A funeral Mass was held February 8, 2008, at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, where he was a member, with burial in Bowling Green Gardens.

Online condolences may be made here

Floyd H. Tanaka
Retired planner Floyd Tanaka died at the age of 83 on January 29, 2008.

Mr. Tanaka rarely talked about his internment at Manzanar Relocation Center with thousands of other Japanese-Americans during World War II. "He was just grateful for what he could do" with his life, his wife, Rose Tanaka, told the Denver Post. "He had no bitterness," said his daughter, Susan Tanaka.

Before the war ended, Mr. Tanaka had become a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. After the war he attended the University of Denver, graduating in 1951 with a degree in architecture and urban planning, and began a successful 50-year career as an urban planner with the city of Colorado Springs.

He was deputy director of the Denver Urban Renewal Authority, the principal of Tanaka and Associates, and one of the three founders of THK Associates.

Mr. Tanaka is survived by his wife, a sister, four children, seven grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. A celebration of his life was held on February 9, 2008 at the First Unitarian Church of Denver. Memorial contributions may be made to Metro CareRing (PO Box 300459, Denver, CO 80218) or a charity of your choice.

Ernest R. Bartley, FAICP
Ernest Bartley, professor emeritus of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and one-time Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida, died in Gainesville, Florida, on January 22, 2008.

Dr. Bartley came to Gainesville in 1949 after receiving his doctorate from the University of California in 1948. He served for some 24 years as a member of the faculty of the Department of Political Science. He participated in 1975 in the formation of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning. He retired formally from the university in 1992, but he continued to teach until his death.

Beginning in the 1950s, Dr. Bartley served as a consultant in land use control planning and regulation. He was a consultant to the Alaska Statehood Committee, the Alaska constitutional Convention, and was active in Washington, D.C. during Alaska's struggle for statehood.

In 2000, Dr. Bartley was inducted into the Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He was cited as a "pioneer in post-WWII planning in Florida, a witness to Florida planning history, and participant in much of it.  For over 50 years a teacher, successful combiner of academe with professional practice, research, and public service. His career is an example for those who follow after."

He held numerous offices in the numerous organizations to which he belonged. In 2007, Dr. Bartley received the Lifetime Service Award from the Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association for "Outstanding Achievements in the Field of Planning." He was author or co-author of many books, monographs, pamphlets, and papers. His Text of a Model Ordinance written with the late Frederick H. Bair, Jr. and published in several editions by the American Society of Planning Officials, was a standard work on the subject for many years.

In 2007, an annual life-time of achievement award was established in Dr. Bartley's name by the Department of Urban and Regional Planning. The first recipient of that award was the former Florida Governor, Reuben Askew.

Survivors include: his wife, Ruth Nielsen Bartley; two daughters; a brother; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

A memorial service was held on January 27, 2008. Later this year his ashes will be interred at Florida National Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Haven Hospice of Gainesville, 4200 NW 90th Blvd., Gainesville, FL 32605.

Send submissions to WebsiteEditor@planning.org.