Alfonso Macy
Architect | 1928-2014
Alfonso 'Al' Macy was born in Cleveland, Ohio and secured his BA, in 1952, at Carnegie Tech after service in the Korean War. He and his wife Lillian sold the home designed for them (in 1953) in Sheffield Lake, Ohio and moved to San Diego in 1955. Here he worked with Selden Kennedy, Dick Lareau and Sam Hamill. By 1960, Al was working with Lloyd Ruocco where he met his future partner Homer Delawie.
Macy, Alfonso 02/01/1928 ~ 01/18/2014 SAN DIEGO -- Born in 1928, the only son of Joe and Mitzi Macyauskas, Alfonso Macy grew up with his two sisters Ruth and Albina in a small house on an alley in the vibrant ethnic metropolis of Cleveland, Ohio.
Naturally inquisitive and intellectually inclined, Al took readily to school. Graduating from East Technical High School in 1945, he entered Carnegie Tech on a scholarship. After a year competing with the older vets, he volunteered for Army Service and was placed in the Counterintelligence Corps where, in his words, he "ground out facts for different people."
Resuming his studies at Carnegie Tech, he met his future wife Lillian Ruppe on Christmas 1948, saying in later years that it was an excellent example of the principle of magnetism. Committed to completing their studies, they were engaged in the spring of 1952 and built their first "experimental" home that fall in Sheffield Lake, Ohio.
Building a family. With the house under way, they married in 1953. But a year later, they decided to leave the snow, arriving in San Diego in January 1955 with their infant daughter Anita. There, Al and Lillian had five more children and welcomed a seventh in 1981. Today, they are Anita (Jeff) and granddaughters Alexandra, Zoe and Maia; Eric (Gaye), former daughter-in-law June Melin, grandchildren Cole, Ila, Dane and Sarah, and great-grandchildren Kaylyn and Dylan; Alan (Cindy) and granddaughter Lola; Christine (Sarah); Mark (Kelly) and grandchildren Hugo, Eva, and Lillian; Conrad (Tamera) and grandchildren Holly and Joseph; and Philip Tu (Nho) and grandson Justin.
Home with Al and Lillian was a place for work and play. Al ran his wood shop out of the garage and set up a drafting table in the family room, setting an example for his children who learned about craftsmanship, concentration and creativity.
Under Al and Lillian's example, art and craft wasn't just something to be appreciated, it was something one did. Although money was tight, there was always a way to provide the 'essential luxuries' of life in California: swimming and music lessons for the children, weekend sailing, family trips across the country, camping in the National Parks. All the children graduated from university and entered a profession - educator, administrator, doctor, engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, architect, professor. They inherited their parents' love of work, creative expression, travel and enthusiasm for life. Alfonso and Lillian had a huge capacity to accommodate others into their lives. They welcomed over 20 international students into their home, many of whom still today consider the Macys part of their family.
Al and Lillian celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2003 and last year marked the 60th year of their marriage. Building an architectural practice. The growing city of San Diego was a great place to build an architectural career.
In 1960, Al Macy met Homer Delawie at Lloyd Ruocco's office, and joined him in practice the following year, becoming a partner in 1966. Two years later, John Henderson made three. With Delawie, Macy and Henderson, Al was instrumental in the preservation and creation of the Old Town Historic District. He took the lead in much of his firm's work for the US Navy, including the Naval Hospital's Medical Library, an innovative model for enlisted men's quarters that was adopted as a national standard, and many advanced technical training facilities. At the San Diego Zoo, he designed the horn and hoof mesa, the elephant and ape enclosures, and the bus depot. In Balboa Park, he designed the Plaza de Balboa and the central fountain, as well as the graceful pedestrian bridge nearby. And Al always brought his irreverent humor to even the most serious projects, saying "The Naval Hospital: such a large building dedicated to such a small part of the anatomy."
In the 1970s, Macy Henderson and Cole were instrumental in establishing the Gaslamp Quarter, developing a reputation for architectural conservation, including the San Diego Mission and modernist works by Irving Gill. In 1974, Al served as president of the San Diego chapter of the AIA. He retired from the office at the age of 58, leaving behind the business but not the practice of architecture. Building community. Alfonso and Lillian's intentional communities were centered around art and spirit, and these threads were woven together in a myriad of patterns. Al saw his church commissions as a way to embody the spirit of reform that accompanied Vatican II. Of Christian Family Movement, Al said it was the first time Lillian and he had ever been in a group where men and women talked and worked together to put the social gospel into practice. 'Observe, Judge and Act' became a life-long commitment for both of them. CFM brought Al and Lillian into the heart of the activist community of the 1960s and opened the family to ever-wider communities - people of different backgrounds, races, nationalities, and religions. It widened to include the world as they began to travel. End of life. It was God's will that Al should leave this life not suddenly like he arrived, but slowly and in stages, letting go of bits and pieces of the pattern that made him who he was. His measured departure gave his family time to accompany him throughout his transition from life to death, and to prepare themselves for his inevitable absence.
In Al's words, "As an evolving development in the creative process of reality, humans and their societies continually interact to form new patterns. Societies shape each of us and we in turn influence our societies. We each need to belong to a society and to do that, we must fit into that society and respect its patterns, even as we work to change it."
Mass and reception will be on Saturday February 15, 2014, at 11:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Sunset Cliffs Blvd. and Saratoga St. in Ocean Beach, San Diego. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Catholic Worker, Sacred Heart Church, or the Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at UCSD.
Published in San Diego Union-Tribune on Feb. 2, 2014.
Architect | 1928-2014
Alfonso 'Al' Macy was born in Cleveland, Ohio and secured his BA, in 1952, at Carnegie Tech after service in the Korean War. He and his wife Lillian sold the home designed for them (in 1953) in Sheffield Lake, Ohio and moved to San Diego in 1955. Here he worked with Selden Kennedy, Dick Lareau and Sam Hamill. By 1960, Al was working with Lloyd Ruocco where he met his future partner Homer Delawie.
Macy, Alfonso 02/01/1928 ~ 01/18/2014 SAN DIEGO -- Born in 1928, the only son of Joe and Mitzi Macyauskas, Alfonso Macy grew up with his two sisters Ruth and Albina in a small house on an alley in the vibrant ethnic metropolis of Cleveland, Ohio.
Naturally inquisitive and intellectually inclined, Al took readily to school. Graduating from East Technical High School in 1945, he entered Carnegie Tech on a scholarship. After a year competing with the older vets, he volunteered for Army Service and was placed in the Counterintelligence Corps where, in his words, he "ground out facts for different people."
Resuming his studies at Carnegie Tech, he met his future wife Lillian Ruppe on Christmas 1948, saying in later years that it was an excellent example of the principle of magnetism. Committed to completing their studies, they were engaged in the spring of 1952 and built their first "experimental" home that fall in Sheffield Lake, Ohio.
Building a family. With the house under way, they married in 1953. But a year later, they decided to leave the snow, arriving in San Diego in January 1955 with their infant daughter Anita. There, Al and Lillian had five more children and welcomed a seventh in 1981. Today, they are Anita (Jeff) and granddaughters Alexandra, Zoe and Maia; Eric (Gaye), former daughter-in-law June Melin, grandchildren Cole, Ila, Dane and Sarah, and great-grandchildren Kaylyn and Dylan; Alan (Cindy) and granddaughter Lola; Christine (Sarah); Mark (Kelly) and grandchildren Hugo, Eva, and Lillian; Conrad (Tamera) and grandchildren Holly and Joseph; and Philip Tu (Nho) and grandson Justin.
Home with Al and Lillian was a place for work and play. Al ran his wood shop out of the garage and set up a drafting table in the family room, setting an example for his children who learned about craftsmanship, concentration and creativity.
Under Al and Lillian's example, art and craft wasn't just something to be appreciated, it was something one did. Although money was tight, there was always a way to provide the 'essential luxuries' of life in California: swimming and music lessons for the children, weekend sailing, family trips across the country, camping in the National Parks. All the children graduated from university and entered a profession - educator, administrator, doctor, engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, architect, professor. They inherited their parents' love of work, creative expression, travel and enthusiasm for life. Alfonso and Lillian had a huge capacity to accommodate others into their lives. They welcomed over 20 international students into their home, many of whom still today consider the Macys part of their family.
Al and Lillian celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2003 and last year marked the 60th year of their marriage. Building an architectural practice. The growing city of San Diego was a great place to build an architectural career.
In 1960, Al Macy met Homer Delawie at Lloyd Ruocco's office, and joined him in practice the following year, becoming a partner in 1966. Two years later, John Henderson made three. With Delawie, Macy and Henderson, Al was instrumental in the preservation and creation of the Old Town Historic District. He took the lead in much of his firm's work for the US Navy, including the Naval Hospital's Medical Library, an innovative model for enlisted men's quarters that was adopted as a national standard, and many advanced technical training facilities. At the San Diego Zoo, he designed the horn and hoof mesa, the elephant and ape enclosures, and the bus depot. In Balboa Park, he designed the Plaza de Balboa and the central fountain, as well as the graceful pedestrian bridge nearby. And Al always brought his irreverent humor to even the most serious projects, saying "The Naval Hospital: such a large building dedicated to such a small part of the anatomy."
In the 1970s, Macy Henderson and Cole were instrumental in establishing the Gaslamp Quarter, developing a reputation for architectural conservation, including the San Diego Mission and modernist works by Irving Gill. In 1974, Al served as president of the San Diego chapter of the AIA. He retired from the office at the age of 58, leaving behind the business but not the practice of architecture. Building community. Alfonso and Lillian's intentional communities were centered around art and spirit, and these threads were woven together in a myriad of patterns. Al saw his church commissions as a way to embody the spirit of reform that accompanied Vatican II. Of Christian Family Movement, Al said it was the first time Lillian and he had ever been in a group where men and women talked and worked together to put the social gospel into practice. 'Observe, Judge and Act' became a life-long commitment for both of them. CFM brought Al and Lillian into the heart of the activist community of the 1960s and opened the family to ever-wider communities - people of different backgrounds, races, nationalities, and religions. It widened to include the world as they began to travel. End of life. It was God's will that Al should leave this life not suddenly like he arrived, but slowly and in stages, letting go of bits and pieces of the pattern that made him who he was. His measured departure gave his family time to accompany him throughout his transition from life to death, and to prepare themselves for his inevitable absence.
In Al's words, "As an evolving development in the creative process of reality, humans and their societies continually interact to form new patterns. Societies shape each of us and we in turn influence our societies. We each need to belong to a society and to do that, we must fit into that society and respect its patterns, even as we work to change it."
Mass and reception will be on Saturday February 15, 2014, at 11:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Sunset Cliffs Blvd. and Saratoga St. in Ocean Beach, San Diego. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Catholic Worker, Sacred Heart Church, or the Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at UCSD.
Published in San Diego Union-Tribune on Feb. 2, 2014.
Alfonso Macy
Architect | 1928-2014
Alfonso 'Al' Macy was born in Cleveland, Ohio and secured his BA, in 1952, at Carnegie Tech after service in the Korean War. He and his wife Lillian sold the home designed for them (in 1953) in Sheffield Lake, Ohio and moved to San Diego in 1955. Here he worked with Selden Kennedy, Dick Lareau and Sam Hamill. By 1960, Al was working with Lloyd Ruocco where he met his future partner Homer Delawie.
Macy, Alfonso 02/01/1928 ~ 01/18/2014 SAN DIEGO -- Born in 1928, the only son of Joe and Mitzi Macyauskas, Alfonso Macy grew up with his two sisters Ruth and Albina in a small house on an alley in the vibrant ethnic metropolis of Cleveland, Ohio.
Naturally inquisitive and intellectually inclined, Al took readily to school. Graduating from East Technical High School in 1945, he entered Carnegie Tech on a scholarship. After a year competing with the older vets, he volunteered for Army Service and was placed in the Counterintelligence Corps where, in his words, he "ground out facts for different people."
Resuming his studies at Carnegie Tech, he met his future wife Lillian Ruppe on Christmas 1948, saying in later years that it was an excellent example of the principle of magnetism. Committed to completing their studies, they were engaged in the spring of 1952 and built their first "experimental" home that fall in Sheffield Lake, Ohio.
Building a family. With the house under way, they married in 1953. But a year later, they decided to leave the snow, arriving in San Diego in January 1955 with their infant daughter Anita. There, Al and Lillian had five more children and welcomed a seventh in 1981. Today, they are Anita (Jeff) and granddaughters Alexandra, Zoe and Maia; Eric (Gaye), former daughter-in-law June Melin, grandchildren Cole, Ila, Dane and Sarah, and great-grandchildren Kaylyn and Dylan; Alan (Cindy) and granddaughter Lola; Christine (Sarah); Mark (Kelly) and grandchildren Hugo, Eva, and Lillian; Conrad (Tamera) and grandchildren Holly and Joseph; and Philip Tu (Nho) and grandson Justin.
Home with Al and Lillian was a place for work and play. Al ran his wood shop out of the garage and set up a drafting table in the family room, setting an example for his children who learned about craftsmanship, concentration and creativity.
Under Al and Lillian's example, art and craft wasn't just something to be appreciated, it was something one did. Although money was tight, there was always a way to provide the 'essential luxuries' of life in California: swimming and music lessons for the children, weekend sailing, family trips across the country, camping in the National Parks. All the children graduated from university and entered a profession - educator, administrator, doctor, engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, architect, professor. They inherited their parents' love of work, creative expression, travel and enthusiasm for life. Alfonso and Lillian had a huge capacity to accommodate others into their lives. They welcomed over 20 international students into their home, many of whom still today consider the Macys part of their family.
Al and Lillian celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2003 and last year marked the 60th year of their marriage. Building an architectural practice. The growing city of San Diego was a great place to build an architectural career.
In 1960, Al Macy met Homer Delawie at Lloyd Ruocco's office, and joined him in practice the following year, becoming a partner in 1966. Two years later, John Henderson made three. With Delawie, Macy and Henderson, Al was instrumental in the preservation and creation of the Old Town Historic District. He took the lead in much of his firm's work for the US Navy, including the Naval Hospital's Medical Library, an innovative model for enlisted men's quarters that was adopted as a national standard, and many advanced technical training facilities. At the San Diego Zoo, he designed the horn and hoof mesa, the elephant and ape enclosures, and the bus depot. In Balboa Park, he designed the Plaza de Balboa and the central fountain, as well as the graceful pedestrian bridge nearby. And Al always brought his irreverent humor to even the most serious projects, saying "The Naval Hospital: such a large building dedicated to such a small part of the anatomy."
In the 1970s, Macy Henderson and Cole were instrumental in establishing the Gaslamp Quarter, developing a reputation for architectural conservation, including the San Diego Mission and modernist works by Irving Gill. In 1974, Al served as president of the San Diego chapter of the AIA. He retired from the office at the age of 58, leaving behind the business but not the practice of architecture. Building community. Alfonso and Lillian's intentional communities were centered around art and spirit, and these threads were woven together in a myriad of patterns. Al saw his church commissions as a way to embody the spirit of reform that accompanied Vatican II. Of Christian Family Movement, Al said it was the first time Lillian and he had ever been in a group where men and women talked and worked together to put the social gospel into practice. 'Observe, Judge and Act' became a life-long commitment for both of them. CFM brought Al and Lillian into the heart of the activist community of the 1960s and opened the family to ever-wider communities - people of different backgrounds, races, nationalities, and religions. It widened to include the world as they began to travel. End of life. It was God's will that Al should leave this life not suddenly like he arrived, but slowly and in stages, letting go of bits and pieces of the pattern that made him who he was. His measured departure gave his family time to accompany him throughout his transition from life to death, and to prepare themselves for his inevitable absence.
In Al's words, "As an evolving development in the creative process of reality, humans and their societies continually interact to form new patterns. Societies shape each of us and we in turn influence our societies. We each need to belong to a society and to do that, we must fit into that society and respect its patterns, even as we work to change it."
Mass and reception will be on Saturday February 15, 2014, at 11:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Sunset Cliffs Blvd. and Saratoga St. in Ocean Beach, San Diego. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Catholic Worker, Sacred Heart Church, or the Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at UCSD.
Published in San Diego Union-Tribune on Feb. 2, 2014.
Architect | 1928-2014
Alfonso 'Al' Macy was born in Cleveland, Ohio and secured his BA, in 1952, at Carnegie Tech after service in the Korean War. He and his wife Lillian sold the home designed for them (in 1953) in Sheffield Lake, Ohio and moved to San Diego in 1955. Here he worked with Selden Kennedy, Dick Lareau and Sam Hamill. By 1960, Al was working with Lloyd Ruocco where he met his future partner Homer Delawie.
Macy, Alfonso 02/01/1928 ~ 01/18/2014 SAN DIEGO -- Born in 1928, the only son of Joe and Mitzi Macyauskas, Alfonso Macy grew up with his two sisters Ruth and Albina in a small house on an alley in the vibrant ethnic metropolis of Cleveland, Ohio.
Naturally inquisitive and intellectually inclined, Al took readily to school. Graduating from East Technical High School in 1945, he entered Carnegie Tech on a scholarship. After a year competing with the older vets, he volunteered for Army Service and was placed in the Counterintelligence Corps where, in his words, he "ground out facts for different people."
Resuming his studies at Carnegie Tech, he met his future wife Lillian Ruppe on Christmas 1948, saying in later years that it was an excellent example of the principle of magnetism. Committed to completing their studies, they were engaged in the spring of 1952 and built their first "experimental" home that fall in Sheffield Lake, Ohio.
Building a family. With the house under way, they married in 1953. But a year later, they decided to leave the snow, arriving in San Diego in January 1955 with their infant daughter Anita. There, Al and Lillian had five more children and welcomed a seventh in 1981. Today, they are Anita (Jeff) and granddaughters Alexandra, Zoe and Maia; Eric (Gaye), former daughter-in-law June Melin, grandchildren Cole, Ila, Dane and Sarah, and great-grandchildren Kaylyn and Dylan; Alan (Cindy) and granddaughter Lola; Christine (Sarah); Mark (Kelly) and grandchildren Hugo, Eva, and Lillian; Conrad (Tamera) and grandchildren Holly and Joseph; and Philip Tu (Nho) and grandson Justin.
Home with Al and Lillian was a place for work and play. Al ran his wood shop out of the garage and set up a drafting table in the family room, setting an example for his children who learned about craftsmanship, concentration and creativity.
Under Al and Lillian's example, art and craft wasn't just something to be appreciated, it was something one did. Although money was tight, there was always a way to provide the 'essential luxuries' of life in California: swimming and music lessons for the children, weekend sailing, family trips across the country, camping in the National Parks. All the children graduated from university and entered a profession - educator, administrator, doctor, engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, architect, professor. They inherited their parents' love of work, creative expression, travel and enthusiasm for life. Alfonso and Lillian had a huge capacity to accommodate others into their lives. They welcomed over 20 international students into their home, many of whom still today consider the Macys part of their family.
Al and Lillian celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2003 and last year marked the 60th year of their marriage. Building an architectural practice. The growing city of San Diego was a great place to build an architectural career.
In 1960, Al Macy met Homer Delawie at Lloyd Ruocco's office, and joined him in practice the following year, becoming a partner in 1966. Two years later, John Henderson made three. With Delawie, Macy and Henderson, Al was instrumental in the preservation and creation of the Old Town Historic District. He took the lead in much of his firm's work for the US Navy, including the Naval Hospital's Medical Library, an innovative model for enlisted men's quarters that was adopted as a national standard, and many advanced technical training facilities. At the San Diego Zoo, he designed the horn and hoof mesa, the elephant and ape enclosures, and the bus depot. In Balboa Park, he designed the Plaza de Balboa and the central fountain, as well as the graceful pedestrian bridge nearby. And Al always brought his irreverent humor to even the most serious projects, saying "The Naval Hospital: such a large building dedicated to such a small part of the anatomy."
In the 1970s, Macy Henderson and Cole were instrumental in establishing the Gaslamp Quarter, developing a reputation for architectural conservation, including the San Diego Mission and modernist works by Irving Gill. In 1974, Al served as president of the San Diego chapter of the AIA. He retired from the office at the age of 58, leaving behind the business but not the practice of architecture. Building community. Alfonso and Lillian's intentional communities were centered around art and spirit, and these threads were woven together in a myriad of patterns. Al saw his church commissions as a way to embody the spirit of reform that accompanied Vatican II. Of Christian Family Movement, Al said it was the first time Lillian and he had ever been in a group where men and women talked and worked together to put the social gospel into practice. 'Observe, Judge and Act' became a life-long commitment for both of them. CFM brought Al and Lillian into the heart of the activist community of the 1960s and opened the family to ever-wider communities - people of different backgrounds, races, nationalities, and religions. It widened to include the world as they began to travel. End of life. It was God's will that Al should leave this life not suddenly like he arrived, but slowly and in stages, letting go of bits and pieces of the pattern that made him who he was. His measured departure gave his family time to accompany him throughout his transition from life to death, and to prepare themselves for his inevitable absence.
In Al's words, "As an evolving development in the creative process of reality, humans and their societies continually interact to form new patterns. Societies shape each of us and we in turn influence our societies. We each need to belong to a society and to do that, we must fit into that society and respect its patterns, even as we work to change it."
Mass and reception will be on Saturday February 15, 2014, at 11:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Sunset Cliffs Blvd. and Saratoga St. in Ocean Beach, San Diego. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Catholic Worker, Sacred Heart Church, or the Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at UCSD.
Published in San Diego Union-Tribune on Feb. 2, 2014.
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