Issue 18  November 9th 2016

In Memoriam: Marcus E. Weston

Mary Jane Hamilton sends word and the following obituary about the passing of Taliesin Fellow, Marcus E. Weston. As stated in the obituary: "Marcus E. Weston, age 101¾, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, October 25, 2016, at his home in Spring Green, WI with his children near him. Son of William and Anna (Claridge) Weston, Marcus was born on Jan. 25, 1915, in Spring Green, delivered by Dr. Marcus Bossard, for whom he was named. He grew up doing carpentry and masonry with his father and soon was working alongside him at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin in Spring Green and also helping to build Taliesin West in Arizona. He was inspired to become an architect himself and was accepted by Mr. Wright into the young Taliesin Fellowship in 1938.

As war settled upon the world, Marcus declared himself a conscientious objector and after a high-profile court case was sentenced to prison, later accepting alternative service in the University of Michigan hos pital in Ann Arbor, where he met Fannie V. Ogoroskin. Marcus and Fannie were married on July 7, 1946, moving back to Taliesin for a time and later to Monticello and then back with their young family to Spring Green, where he designed and built a home and lived for the rest of his life. Most of his professional architectural life was with the well-known Madison partnership of Kaeser & McLeod, in which he became a partner in the 1980s, as well as numerous local architectural commissions, notably including the Spring Green Senior Center and "South Hill", originally designed for Dr. Gerald Kempthorne in the wooded hills north of Spring Green.

Along with Fannie, Marcus became an ardent advocate for mentally disabled citizens and served as an ARC state board member for many years. He stood for Sauk County Board of Supervisors and served energetically and vocally for three terms in the 1990s. In middle age he also discovered backpacking, introduced his two older children to it, and started adding up the miles on the iconic Appalachian Trail, eventually completing over 250 miles. Though he always wished he could have hiked the whole trail, he was very proud of his granddaughter, Ruthie, who through-hiked the entire Trail in 2014. Marcus is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth Weston (Jeffery Behm) of Oshkosh, and sons, Anthony (Amy Halberstadt) of Durham, NC, and Ethan of Spring Green; and three grandchildren, Andrew, Anna Ruth, and Molly, to whom he bequeaths his love of limericks, his love of "the Trail", and his resoluteness and devotion. His family is most grateful to Agrace HospiceCare for their tender and loving support of Marcus as he neared the end of his life. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in his honor to the Wisconsin Disability Association or to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy."

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John deKoven Hill's Corbett House For Sale

Cincinnati Refined spotlights the news that the Corbett House, designed by Taliesin Fellow, John deKoven Hill, is for sale for $2.6 million. It's unfortunate that the original and wholly unique kitchen design the house once had has been replaced with the bland update seen in the gallery photos. Follow the link to learn more. Read more.

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Wright And The City

Frank Lloyd Wright had a complicated and often tumultuous relationship with the concept of the city. That didn't stop him from frequently thinking about them and designing some of the most influential and creative architectural solutions for them. Follow the link to read one article exploring this topic in a little more detail. Read more.

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