John C. Voosen, a third-generation Chicago architect who designed many area churches and church renovations, died of a heart attack Friday, Sept. 15, in California, his son-in-law said.
Mr. Voosen, 63, formerly of Wilmette moved to Los Angeles about six years ago to be closer to his daughter’s family.
Mr. Voosen’s great-uncle, Hermann Gaul, had worked in the firm of renowned architect Louis Sullivan and later started his own firm. Mr. Voosen’s father, also named John, joined Gaul’s firm and when Hermann Gaul died, became a partner with Gaul’s son, Michael. Gaul & Voosen designed churches including St. John Brebeuf in Niles and St. Mary of the Woods in Chicago.
Mr. Voosen joined the firm after getting his master’s degree from Harvard University in 1968. In the mid-1970s, Mr. Voosen and his father started John C. Voosen Architects, which had offices in Tribune Tower.
About seven years ago, Mr. Voosen joined Church Building Consultants in Wheaton as chief architect and started to split his time between Chicago and California.
His buildings included St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Homer Glen, and renovations of Our Lady Mother of the Church in Chicago, and St. Mark’s and St. Nicholas Churches in Evanston. He also designed elements within many area churches such as altars, prayer rooms and baptismal fonts. His last design was for Three Rivers Church in Plainfield, which has yet to be built.
Each of Mr. Voosen’s designs was unique because he did not work from a preconceived style, but from the needs and wishes of the congregation whose church he was building, said Dennis Ehrman, president of Church Building Consultants.
“He was the most creative and adaptable architect I’ve ever known,” Ehrman said. “He really liked to work with the client. He thoroughly enjoyed working with a group, a community of believers as he referred to it.”
In the mid-1970s, Mr. Voosen was hired to build St. Bernard’s Church. His assignment was to “understand who we are as a people, and give us a building that will capture that spirit,” said Rev. Thomas Schutter, the church’s pastor at the time.
From initial planning stages, the church took 10 years to complete. The main service area seated 1,000 for Sunday mass and during the week could be converted into 16 classrooms, Schutter said. A foyer was designed for dual use as a smaller, 250-capacity chapel, for weddings and funerals. Mr. Voosen commissioned work from stained glass artist Robert Harmon and sculptor Jerzy Kenar for the interior.
“John Voosen’s buildings were unique, there’s really no two of them the same because they came out of the experience of the people,” Schutter said.
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Mr. Voosen, who had a wry sense of humor that often left people guessing whether he was serious, sometimes described himself as a “Catholic Buddhist,” Schutter said. But in fact he was a lifelong Catholic who was well versed enough in liturgical matters to occasionally teach at seminaries, Ehrman said.
Mr. Voosen grew up on the North Side. He attended Campion Jesuit High School in Prairie du Chien, Wis., then went on to Harvard for both undergraduate and graduate studies, said his daughter, Elizabeth.
A fly-fisherman whose favorite spot for stalking trout was the Au Sable River in Michigan, Mr. Voosen also enjoyed kayaking anywhere from Michigan rivers to the Skokie Lagoons, his daughter said.
Mr. Voosen also is survived by his wife, Deborah; his mother, Phyllis; his sister, Phyllis Voosen Goldberg; and a grandson.
Private services will be held Saturday.
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