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BORN
1933
DIED
2018
Corban LePell Obituary
February 27, 1933 - May 10, 2018
San Leandro, California
Corban LePell--artist, professor, father, friend--died of pulmonary failure on May 10, 2018 in San Leandro, California.
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, the only child of Roy and Mary LePell, he is survived by Paul David LePell, Miriam Clare LePell, and Ann Rachel LePell, his children, along with Miles LePell Koehler, Arden LePell Koehler, and Liam LePell Koehler, his grandchildren. His wife of 37 years, Audrey LePell, as well as his second wife for 15 years, Victoria LePell, also survive him.
Corban met and married Audrey in Wichita, Kansas, moved with her to Lincoln, Nebraska, Evanston, Illinois, and eventually to Oakland and Hayward, when he became one of the founding faculty members of the Cal State University Hayward Art Department. He taught at CSUH, now CSU East Bay, for 40 years, having touched and inspired thousands of students. Many students continue their love of making art, and often credit Corban with changing their lives forever.
Corban was an artist his whole life, having made hundreds of drawings and paintings, showing them at various galleries and museums around the country. Starting successfully in Abstract Expressionism, Corban's art continually evolved, including renderings of traditional figures, austere landscapes, objects and textures. He believed deeply in the pursuit of art, beauty, and truth; he always wanted the viewers of his work to experience what it was to "really look, really see" something.
Corban and Audrey raised their three children together in Hayward, cultivating a family life rich in community spirit and intellectual pursuits. Later in his life, he married Victoria LePell, with whom he spent years socializing and traveling. Victoria and Corban divorced in 2015.
Corban's other passions included Persian rugs, ancient Oriental pottery, classical music, and old Hollywood Classics
Corban started The Okeghem Circle, a cadre of intellectuals and artists, with whom he shared rich conversation on wide-ranging subjects. He greatly valued his Okeghem friends and reveled in their regular meetings for more than 20 years.
Corban LePell – artist, professor, father and friend – farewell.
A memorial is planned for July 2018.
View the online memorial for Corban LePell
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Memories and Condolences
for Corban LePell
Sponsored by East Bay Times.
Jane Robertson
August 27, 2019
I can still see Corban holding forth at WSU Art Department. He was elegant of word and gesture, as well as his art. You are remembered, missed, and loved.
Jane Robertson
August 27, 2019
Helen Million
December 12, 2018
I met Corbinin 1957 at Wichita U. It was possibly his first university position and he was on fire. I am still painting at 79 mostly because Corbin was so much fun. I know that this is hard time for you but Corbin had a long life doing something he loved and he touched many lives.
marc thorpe
August 1, 2018
I first met corban in connection with my desire to take an advanced painting class in the art dept. at what was then called cal state univ at hayward. I was a freshman but he let me in anyway. It was a night class which made it all the more attractive. It was whole new level of art for me.
Corban would walk around and comment on eveyones work.
I Learned to identify all the boggie men that keep art from . . . being art. Convention, derrivation, ambivilence, dishonesty, etc.
I was totally taken with corbans work and that continued. We soon became friends and often enjoyed intense conversations before he formed a more formal discussion group.
Corban's work was subtlty on steroids. He would lavish the most intense detail on otherwise mundane surfaces.....which would be positioned in EXACTLY the right place in a composition which in turn was itself fascinating. He was a brilliant formalist and that is how I learned to let formal elements drive the meaning of my work.
But he was also stubborn. His views were as strong and inevitable as his art work. I remember one occasion when I nudged him my way a bit, he was complaining about the transamerica building being so many more tons of concrete in a concrete city that SF was becoming. I asked him if the building Improved the skyline .. .. ? the formalist in him had to agree that it did.
A great artist, a great teacher, and a lovely man.
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June 18, 2018
Please accept my condolences during your time of great sadness. May you cherish fond memories to cope with the pain from day to day. Take note of the comforting words at 1Thessalonians 4:14, the beautiful hope of seeing your love one again.
charles henriott
May 27, 2018
Sad to learn of Professor LePell's
passing. I learned a particular point of view from him, which has stayed me for these five decades. I was drawn to his art and his mind. I will miss not sharing a lunch with him again. May his family attain peace and share the joy of a life well lived.
Fellow artist and teacher,
Charles Henriott
Patricia Donohue-Carey
May 25, 2018
I am so saddened to read this. May Professor LePells memory be eternal.
Loni (August) Mendoza
May 25, 2018
My heartfelt condolences to all of you. I think about "Uncle Corbin" all the time. I grew up surrounded by his art and I have several pieces in my home that remind me of the LePell clan. The holidays never pass without memories of warmth, family, love and debates. He will always in my heart.
Michelle
May 22, 2018
May the God of all comfort grant you peace during this time. Phillipians 4:7 says, ...and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts.
May 22, 2018
Offering condolences for the loss of your loved one. May God's loving kindness sustain you during this difficult time.
2 Thess.2:16
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