In Memoriam

J. William (Bill) Curtis
Jacob William (Bill) Curtis, an associate professor emeritus of architecture who taught design, theory and South Asian architecture at the UW for 25 years, died July 29, 2008 of lymphoma. Curtis was born in Portland on May 21, 1926 and raised in Seattle. He served in the Army during World War II, and then attended the UW, where he earned a bachelor’s (BArch ’51) and later a master’s degree in south Asian languages and literature (Sanskrit). Curtis and his wife, Patricia Emmons, shared an architecture practice, Curtis and Emmons Architects, for 26 years.  Curtis never retired from practicing architecture, and his creative work encompassed sculpture, drawing and writing. He was awarded Fulbright and American Institute of Indian Studies scholarships for two separate years of study in India.

Mary L. Davis
Mary Lund Davis, 86, of Rancho Mirage, Calif., passed away on June 13, 2008 in Rancho Mirage. She was born Feb. 13, 1922 in Sacramento, Calif., where her father was a homebuilder. Davis attended UW as the only woman in her class pursuing an architecture degree (BArch ’45), and she was the first female architect in Washington state to become licensed after World War II ended. She practiced architecture for 30 years. Davis practiced in limited partnerships with various architects including her husband, George L. Davis, Jr. In partnership with Alan Bucholz, Davis designed the award-winning Tacoma Millwork Supply Company Office (1962) using post-and-beam framing and plywood finishes. During the 1950s, Davis was a regular contributor to the Douglas Fir Plywood Association, supplying plans for home designs and “you build” furnishings. Read more about Davis.

John L. Hancock
John Loretz Hancock, professor emeritus of Urban Design and Planning, died Dec. 7, 2008, at age 78. Family and friends gathered on his birthday, Jan. 23, 2009, in Gould Hall Court to remember the historian and urban planner who taught at the University of Washington for 34 years.
         Hancock was born in St. Louis in 1930, and fought with the Marine Corps in the Korean War. He married Joanne Johnson, the mother of their children Manjit (nee Martha), Joseph, Karen and Steve. He began his career as a historian of cities and urban planning after obtaining a Ph.D. in American civilization and city planning at the University of Pennsylvania in 1964.  Hancock taught at the University of North Dakota, University of Kansas and in Sweden and Japan on Fulbright scholarships before coming to the UW. He married Marga Rosencranz on Aug. 30, 1975.
         Hancock’s research examined the nature of urban communities and the shaping of urban form, and he helped establish the UW’s award-winning undergraduate program in Community, Environment, and Planning (CEP). In 1998, he retired as professor emeritus. Hancock was active in the Society for American City and Regional Planning History, the International Planning History Society, and the Council on America’s Military Past. Read more about Hancock.

Randolph Jones
Randolph Jones, FAIA, AICP, died Feb. 21, 2008 after a protracted battle with cancer. Jones was president and co-founding principal of Jones Payne Architects & Planners and The Jones Payne Group, Inc., an architecture, urban design and planning, and information technology firm with offices across the country. He received his bachelor’s from the UW (BArch ’67) and master’s degrees in architecture and city planning from the University of Pennsylvania. He served in Vietnam as an officer in the U.S. Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps.
         Jones was a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) College of Fellows. He advocated for livable communities by emphasizing team building, civic engagement and coalition-building in part through his extensive leadership and activism through the Boston Society of Architects, AIA and regional growth alliances. Jones was a Certified Planner of the American Institute of Certified Planners, NCARB certified and registered to practice architecture in 21 states.