Obituaries — 2010

Marie Elisabeth (Betty) Croly, FAICP
Betty Croly, former AICP commissioner, APA board member, and long-time historian of APA's California Chapter, died December 5, 2010, at the age of 87.

Ms. Croly was honored in 2008 by the chapter for extraordinary commitment to planning history and lifetime achievement in service to APA. She was a member of the AICP Commission and the APA Board of Directors in the 1980s. She served on the California Chapter board in numerous positions and became the chapter's first historian in 1988.

In 2000, Ms. Croly was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners. Her nominators recognized her for initiating the AICP Historic Landmark Pioneer Program in 1985.

"Our profession needs our champions and our historians, and Betty was both," said APA CEO Paul Farmer, FAICP. "Obviously, she was also a friend and mentor to many in Calfornia through the decades."

Ms. Croly was a resident of Berkeley, California, since 1948, and her planning career began in the 1950s. Her longest tenure as a practicing planner was with Alameda County, California, from 1969 to 1998, where she served as assistant planning director before her retirement.

She is survived by a brother, two sisters, three nephews, and two godchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on January 8, 2011, at Berkeley Methodist United Church, 1710 Carleton St., Berkeley, California.

Robert Johnston Piper, FAICP
Bob Piper, city planner, architect, and student of planning history, died November 11, 2010, in Evanston, Illinois. He was 84.

Mr. Piper was a driving force behind the centennial celebration of Daniel Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago in 2009. Colleagues remember him as a mentor to many in the fields of architecture and urban planning. Family members told The Chicago Tribune that Mr. Piper liked to move from job to job, "picking projects that stirred his imagination."

Mr. Piper received a bachelor's degree in architectural engineering from the University of Illinois and a master's degree in regional planning from Cornell University. He began his career in 1953 at Orput Associates in Rockford, Illinois. He left in 1961 to join the American Institute of Architects in Washington, then became vice president/partner of the architectural firm Perkins and Will in Chicago.

From 1974 to 1976, Mr. Piper was deputy executive director of the Northeast Illinois Planning Commission before spending the next several years at another Chicago firm and as an independent consultant. In 1981, he began working for the city of Highland Park.

Mr. Piper was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners in 2000.

He is survived by his wife, Carol, three sons, a brother, a sister, and four grandchildren. A celebration of life was held on December 4 at the Winnetka Community House.

Philip H. Braum
Phil Braum of Washington, D.C., died October 31, 2010. He was 62.

Mr. Braum was a planner with 36 years of experience. He earned master's degrees in city planning and civil engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and worked for Barton-Aschman Associates and more recently at Kimley-Horn and Associates.

He is survived by a brother, a niece, nephews, and great-nieces and -nephews.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the American Public Transportation Association Scholarship Fund at www.aptfd.org.

William Hampton Coibion, AICP
Retired planner William Coibion died October 18, 2010, in Roseville, California, at the age of 90.

A native of St. Louis, he graduated from the University of Illinois in 1947 and became the director of planning for the City of St. Louis. After relocating to San Mateo, California, in 1958, he worked in San Francisco for the Leo A. Daly firm, from which he retired as the vice president director of planning.

Mr. Coibion was preceded in death by his wife, Jane M. Coibion, and a daughter. He is survived by two sons, four grandsons, and six great grand-children.

A celebration of life service was held on November 6, 2010 at East Lawn Sierra Hills Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Shoulder to Shoulder, P. O. Box 38941, Sacramento, CA 95838, a ministry that helps urban fatherless young men in Sacramento.

Memories of Mr. Coibion may be found in an online guestbook at www.legacy.com/guestbook/mercurynews/guestbook.aspx?n=william-coibion&pid=146287873&cid=full.

Kenneth James Groves, Jr., AICP
Ken Groves, planning director of Montgomery, Alabama, for the past nine years, died September 28, 2010, at age 64 after a brief battle with cancer.

Mr. Groves came to Montgomery in August 2001 following a four-year term as manager of the Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, office of Coastal Environments, Inc. He spent 27 years at the local, state, regional, metropolitan, community, and private levels.

Mr. Groves was proceeded in death by his father and a sister. He is survived by his wife Terri Groves, his mother, two children, two sisters, a brother, and several nieces and nephews.

Funeral services were held October 1, 2010, at First United Methodist Church in Montgomery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Ken Groves Memorial for the Downtown Farm Children's Garden, Hampstead Institute, 5251 Hampstead High St., Unit 203, Montgomery, AL 36116.

Robert Amson Olmsted
Robert Olmsted, a leading transportation planner in New York, died on August 16, 2010, at the age of 85.

Mr. Olmsted was former planning director of the MTA. He is survived by his wife, Pauline, three children, and three grandchildren.

A memorial service was held September 25, 2010. Donations in his memory may be made to the Nicholas J.P. Kau Fund for Shakespeare and Wrestling at Trinity School, 139 W. 91 St., New York, NY 10024.

To read an appreciation of Mr. Olmsted's life and work, visit www.rpa.org/2010/09/spotlight-vol-9-no-16-robert-a-olmsted-an-appreciation.html.

Josh Moreinis, AICP
Josh Moreinis of Croton-on-Hudson, New York, died on July 16, 2010, at age 46.

A graduate of Columbia University and a Fulbright Scholar in South Korea, Mr. Moreinis was a senior planner at STV Inc. and a landscape painter.

He is survived by his wife, Pamela Ivinski, his mother, and a brother. Services were held Sunday, July 25, at Temple Israel of Northern Westchester in Croton-on-Hudson.

Read tributes and memories of Mr. Moreinis at http://josh.gamefacewebdesign.com/messages/josh-planning-and-bronx.

Aaron L. Benjamin, AICP
Aaron Benjamin, an urban planner, civic activist, and promoter of affordable housing, died June 13, 2010, in Ashland, Oregon, at age 78. He was a Life Member of APA.

Mr. Benjamin was born in New York City. He received a B.A. in Urbanism in 1954 from Brooklyn College and earned an M.P.A. in City Planning from New York University in 1959.

He spent 12 years as an urban planner and housing specialist, moving from New York City to Zurich, Switzerland, then to Los Angeles and northern California, before moving back to New York City where he served in the city's Housing and Development Board. Previously, he had worked for the architectural firms of Victor Gruen and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. While living in New York, he was hired by the City of Elizabeth, New Jersey, to be its Director of Planning and Development. He also taught a course at the Pratt Institute and the New School for Social Research on the effects of urban renewal on city life.

Mr. Benjamin moved to Oregon 12 years ago from Arlington, Virginia, where he lived after retiring from a 22-year career with the U.S. State Department's Agency for International Development (USAID). As Housing and Urban Development Officer, he served in served in six countries overseas, five in Latin America — Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic — and then in Egypt. Frequently assigned to these countries following a devastating earthquake or hurricane, he was involved in programs to plan and implement their reconstruction, develop small business and export-promotion, and design a disaster preparedness response.

Mr. Benjamin is survived by his wife, Judith, of Ashland, Oregon; a daughter and son, a brother, and a nephew. A memorial celebration of his life will be held on September 2, 2010, in Ashland, Oregon.

Contributions may be made on his behalf to the City of Ashland Housing Trust Fund, CARE, or Habitat for Humanity.

Karle Seydel, AICP
Karle Seydel, remembered as a tireless activist in Denver neighborhood development, died suddenly May 12, 2010. He was 59.

Mr. Seydel worked professionally as an urban designer and planner in Colorado. He was instrumental in the siting of Coors Field in Denver and led efforts to revitalize the adjacent BallPark neighborhood. Colleagues recall his "exuberant passion for urban places and the planning practice."

He is survived by his mother, two brothers, and two children. Memories of Mr. Seydel may be found at an online guestbook at www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookid=7688134406493&cid=full.

A memorial service was held May 23 at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Denver. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Historic Denver Inc., 1536 Wynkoop, Denver, CO 80202.

Jack Meltzer, AICP
Jack Meltzer, a planner and leading figure in the controversial 1950s urban renewal of the neighborhood surrounding the University of Chicago, died May 5, 2010, in Washington, D.C. He was 88.

Mr. Meltzer was remembered in The Chicago Tribune for his "role in shaping Hyde Park as an urban planner who crafted blueprints for the demolition and rebuilding of large swaths of the South Side Chicago neighborhood during the 1950s and 1960s."

According to the Tribune:

Mr. Meltzer in 1954 became director of planning for the South East Chicago Commission, an arm of the university. The South Side was changing rapidly as African Americans, no longer bound by restrictive real estate covenants that had long kept them crowded into clearly delineated areas, moved into previously white neighborhoods.

Residents of Hyde Park and officials at its anchor, the U. of C., sought to stabilize their predominately white and middle- to upper-middle-class community by tearing down the aged and decrepit housing that lined many of its thoroughfares and erecting new buildings and commercial strips.

Mr. Meltzer was given the difficult task of deciding where urban renewal, for many a catchword for displacing poor and minorities, was justified and would contribute to the goal.

Mr. Meltzer graduated from Wayne State University in Detroit with a bachelor's degree before coming to the University of Chicago. After four years with the South East Chicago Commission, he started his own urban planning firm, consulting on projects including the Near West Side site for the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also did consulting work for cities around the country. He chaired the public affairs program at the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration. In 1983, he left for the University of Texas at Dallas, where he stayed until his retirement in 1986.

Mr. Meltzer's wife, Rae Libin Meltzer, died in 2008. He also is survived by two sons, a daughter, eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Donations may be made in Mr. Meltzer's memory to CAFA of Montgomery County, 1010 Grandin Ave., Suite B3, Rockville, MD 20851.

Paul Aloysius Birkner
Long-time planning board member Paul Birkner, 78, died May 5, 2010, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Mr. Birkner served for 32 years on the Winston-Salem Forsyth City County Planning Board.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara Nichols Birkner, two sons, two grandchildren, and nieces and nephews. A Celebration of Life was held May 8, 2010, at Love's United Methodist Church and burial followed in Walkertown. Memorials may be made to the donor's choice.

Gray Smith, AICP
Planner Gray Smith, 69, died April 29, 2010, in Philadelphia.

A native of Nashville, Mr. Smith received his Master's of Architecture from Tulane University and worked as an architect and urban planner.

He is survived by his wife, Roxanne Galeota; three daughters and a son; seven grandchildren; and his former wife, Sally Fellon. Memories of Mr. Gray may be found on an online guestbook at www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookid=3706699169880&cid=full.

Funeral services were held May 5 at Bringhurst Funeral Home in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Gray Smith may be made to The School of Architecture at Tulane University in New Orleans.

Chad Taylor Crutcher, AICP
Chad Crutcher, 59, of Truckee, California, died suddenly on April 18, 2010.

A native of Burbank, California, Mr. Crutcher graduated in 1974 from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in landscape architecture. During his career, he worked at SWA Group in Sausalito, California; Melvin Lee Associates in San Francisco; Projects Pacific in Berkeley, California; and, McKay and Somps in Reno, Nevada.

In the early '80s, he launched his own firm Terra Media in San Francisco. He moved back to Reno in 2003 and worked as a planner and landscape architect with Lumos Associates until his death. He enjoyed hiking, snowshoeing, and travel, especially in Asia.

Mr. Crutcher died just days after attending APA's 2010 National Planning Conference in New Orleans. He wrote about the experience, and his wife has shared his essay as a memorial to Mr. Crutcher's passion and talent. Click here to read "Katrina Is Personal, Now."

He is survived by his wife, Vickie Welch; son, Gage; daughter Bryce; brother Brett; and sister Brooke Kasner. Memorial services were held April 24, 2010, at the Tahoe Forest Church in Truckee. Memorial contributions may be made in lieu of flowers to Heifer International (www.heifer.org).

Vernon Phillip Deines
Vernon Deines, a co-founder and early chairman of APA's Small Town and Rural Planning Division, died March 30, 2010, in Manhattan, Kansas. He was 80.

Mr. Deines received a Master of Regional Planning degree from Kansas State University in 1962 and earned a Ph.D. in urban affairs, higher education, and public administration from the University of Pittsburgh in 1977. He worked as a structural engineer with McDowell Aircraft Company and weapons design and development engineer with the U.S. Department of Defense. For 40 years, he was an instructor and then professor in architecture, mechanical engineering, and regional planning at Kansas State University. He retired from KSU in 1997.

Mr. Deines was a founding member of the American Planning Association and the American Institute of Certified Planners. He served as president of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) from 1971 until 1973. He chaired the ACSP School Review process of 1975-76 that formed the basis for planning school accreditation by APA/ACSP in 1980.

Mr. Deines was preceded in death by his wife, Doris Marie Dishman; a brother, a sister, and his parents. He is survived by his children Sharon, Carol, Debra, and Erich, and nine grandchildren.

Funeral services were held on April 10, 2010 at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Manhattan. Interment followed in the Sunrise Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Kansas State University Endowment Fund.

Alfred K. Eckersberg, AICP
Long-time Chicago-area planner Alfred Eckersberg died in January 2010 at the age of 89. 

Born in Chicago, Mr. Eckersberg dropped out of high school, but later was awarded a scholarship from Wright Junior College to attend the University of Chicago, where he received an MA in economic planning. Mr. Eckersberg went on to become an authority on real estate analysis and projections. 

As senior planner and assistant executive director of the Chicago Plan Commission and director of planning for the Chicago Community Conservation Board in the 1950s he participated in the City of Chicago's urban renewal. He later became senior vice president of the Real Estate Research Corporation and principal in CASL where he consulted on numerous, major local and international real estate developments. 

Mr. Eckersberg served on and advised many technical councils and community boards throughout his life. He was still commuting daily by CTA L train from his home in Wilmette to his office in the Loop until his 87th year. 

He was also known as a baseball player, coach, and Cubs fan. Mr. Eckersberg will be missed by close friend Margaret Duggar; daughters Liisa and Ingrid; and brothers Robert (& Marilyn) and Bruce (& Carrie) and their families.

To honor his commitment to environmental and democracy issues please make a donation to Earthjustice in lieu of flowers. A memorial service was held on May 15, 2010, in Chicago. 

Jack Ladd Carr, AICP
Jack Carr, the first planning director of Annapolis, Maryland, died January 10, 2010, at the age of 84.

Born in Philadelphia, Mr. Carr earned his master's degree in urban planning at Temple University. After graduation, he was hired in 1961 as the first director of the planning department for the City of Annapolis in 1961. Later in the 1960s, Mr. Carr worked on planning programs with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maryland. Under Maryland Gov. J. Millard Tawes, Mr. Carr was selected as a senior manager of statewide historical, cultural, and art programs. In the mid-1980s, he was named deputy director of all programs concerning the historical heritage of the State of Maryland and cultural art projects.

Mr. Carr is survived by his wife, Lois Green Carr, a sister, a stepson, one nephew, and four nieces. A memorial service was held on April 12 at St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Annapolis.

Donations in his memory may be made to St. John's College, Advancement Office, PO Box 2800, Annapolis, MD 21401; St. Anne's Episcopal Church, 199 Duke of Gloucester, Annapolis, MD 21401; or the Annapolis Symphony, 801 Chase St. Suite 204, Annapolis, MD 21401.

Joseph J. Della Porta
Joe Della Porta, 76, died January 5, 2010 in Gainesville, Florida.

A native of Shamokin, Pennsylvania, Mr. Della Porta lived in Miami for 30 years working for Dade County zoning hearings and processing. In 1972 he started his own firm as a professional land planning consultant. He moved to Gainesville in 1996.

Mr. Della Porta was a drummer, an artist, an avid reader, and an expert on and restorer of antiques. He is survived by his wife, Irene, of 34 years, a niece Mary Burk, and a nephew, Robert O'Donnell. He was interned at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.

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