Architect Laurence Schwall’s first and only thoughts of retiring came at age 80, when his declining health made it difficult for him to descend the stairs every day to the basement studio in his Northbrook home.
Mr. Schwall, who designed more than 2,000 buildings in his 59-year career, died at 81 Saturday in a Deerfield nursing home.
“He never even talked about retiring until a year ago after he had a stroke,” said his stepdaughter, Leslie Boyd.
Born and raised in Wilmette, Mr. Schwall lived and practiced on the North Shore.
Among the buildings he designed are the Morton Grove Library, the Niles-Skokie Post Office, Glenview Village Hall, Fire Station No. 5 in Evanston, the Chalet Club in Glenview, Underwriters Laboratory, Hackney’s restaurants and many other institutional and commercial buildings.
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Mr. Schwall studied architecture at the University of Illinois. He would design any style clients wanted, said his wife, Phyllis, but his personal love were contemporary styles influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie School.
Since 1968, the Schwalls lived in a home that Mr. Schwall designed, she said. He included a basement studio where he worked.
Mr. Schwall was an active member of St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Chyurch in Northfield. He designed the church’s convent and rectory. He also supported the Divine Word Missionaries in nearby Techny, said Boyd, who added that her stepfather was as modest as he was generous.
“He was very much a behind-the-scenes kind of guy. We didn’t even know about many of the things he supported until this week,” she said.
Other survivors include a son, Steve; a sister, Frances Baker; and four grandchildren. Funeral services have been held.