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October
9, 1958 – November 28, 2008
Bill
began his tenure at Integrated Architecture on March 25,
1996. Working as job captain, he played an integral role
in many successful IA projects including the national award-winning
Herman Miller MarketPlace. Bill’s understanding of
form and space allowed him to help create buildings that
transcended the ordinary, buildings that stand today as
testimony to his talent and ability. Projects that carry
his distinctive signature range from soaring worship spaces
to nationally recognized sports and fitness centers. His
value at IA was formally recognized in January of 2004 when
he was named a Senior Associate, an honor reserved for key
staff.
Prior
to joining IA, Bill was on the design team that created
the Steelcase Corporate Development Center, aka the Steelcase
Pyramid. He was personally responsible for all the public
spaces including the cafeteria, presentation rooms and four
-story atrium.
While
Bill’s impressive accomplishments provide insight into
his abilities, they do not illustrate his great sense of
humor and insightful people skills. Armed with an uncanny
knack of saying what needed to be said in a supportive and
positive manner, Bill soon made clients friends, and coworkers
quickly morphed into his “integrated family.”
In
January of 2008, when Bill was diagnosed with lung cancer,
he maintained his humor and focused on living life to the
fullest, spending precious time with family and friends,
a testament to his certainty that work was an important
part of life, not the reason for life.
It
is somehow fitting that on December 1, 2008, a day where
the season’s first snowfall smoothed over the rough
edges of Grand Rapids, we celebrated Bill’s life through
a worship service that he orchestrated, sharing music that
sprang from his faith and comforted those who mourn his
passing.
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