Wells Awsumb spent most of his life designing buildings but when he saw a lovely landscape, a town square or a slope of flowers, he would photograph the scene, then paint it in watercolor. Mr. Awsumb was an architect for 35 years. He designed theaters, university halls and an auditorium, among other Memphis monuments. At the age of 79, he died of heart disease Friday at his home. "He was a very gentle man," his wife, Gwen Awsumb, said. His designs include Theatre Memphis, Lindenwood Christian Church, First Church of Christ Scientist, the Youth Building at Idlewild Presbyterian Church and Clough Hall at Rhodes College. He also did homes in the River Oaks area. "He was an architect with a contemporary flair," his wife said. "He used to say 'I don't do columns.'" His favorite designs can be seen in Theatre Memphis and Clough Hall at Rhodes, which he designed in the 1970s at the height of his career. He was president of the Memphis chapter of American Institute of Architects in 1963, served as chairman of the C .M. Gooch Foundation Board and was a member of the Kiwanis Club. Upon his retirement 14 years ago, Mr. Awsumb became more active as a watercolorist. Among his favorite paintings were a scene of Passau, Germany, on the Rhine, a landscape of hibiscus flowers from St. Thomas and scenes from Hilton Head Island, off the South Carolina coast. "We really had quite a happy life," his wife said. "He was a very quiet bystander, who applauded from the sidelines but always gave me great support." Gwen Awsumb was on the City Council in the 1970s. Mr. Awsumb served in Africa in the Navy during World War II for 18 months, servicing planes that flew in and out of the European Theater. "He said he never heard a gun fired in anger," said his wife of 57 years. After the war, Mr. Awsumb returned to Memphis and followed in his father's footsteps as an architect. He attended Southwestern (now Rhodes), where he met his wife and married her in December 1937. He received his architectural degree from the University of Illinois in 1940. Mr. Awsumb and his brother, Richard Awsumb, had a partnership with their father: George Awsumb and Sons. Services will be at 1 p.m. Monday at Idlewild Presbyterian Church, where he was a deacon and elder, with burial in Memorial Park. Memorial Park Funeral Home has charge. Mr. Awsumb also leaves a daughter, Helen Catherine Awsumb of Memphis; two sons, George Wells Awsumb of Rome, Ga., and Carl David Awsumb of Memphis; a sister, Georgianna Ensminger of Memphis; his brother, Richard Awsumb of Orlando, Fla., and five grandchildren (Published in The Commercial Appeal 2/5/1995)