Robert DeRose

1972 - 2017

Robert Russell DeRose, AIA, age 45, died peacefully in his Chicago home, surrounded by his family, on Saturday, October 28, 2017. The cause was brain cancer. Rob was born on the Ides of March 1972, in Elmhurst, IL to Karen and Russell DeRose. The oldest of three children, Rob attended Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax, VA before enrolling at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). As a graduate of SCAD, Rob was a committed and knowledgeable architect who shared his expertise generously with younger staff, including during his time at Farr Associates in Chicago, where he made many close friends who appreciated his warmth and humor. In 2012, he fearlessly started his own firm, Build Wisely Architects, and was notably responsible for the Logan Square Amber Building renovation and for creating a sensitive bungalow addition checklist for the Chicago Bungalow Association after his success with the Belmont Gardens M.R. Bungalow Addition project. Rob joined the Chicago office of Moody Nolan in the summer of 2014, serving as its Lead Technical Project Architect on both the Harvey Public Library and Wintrust Arena projects. Once again, his sense of humor, work ethic, and attention to detail quickly endeared him to his work family, clients and collaborators alike. On September 25, 2010, he married Rae DeRose (Rushford), and they resided in the Portage Park neighborhood of Chicago, with their much-loved dog, Andrew. In addition to architecture, Rob loved photography, travel, road trips, live music, craft beer and spending time with his family and friends. While Rob will be especially remembered for his kindness, sense of humor and generosity, he would wish to acknowledge the kindness of all those who provided support during his illness, especially his work family at Moody Nolan, his doctors and nurses at Northwestern Memorial, his immediate and extended family, and his many colleagues and friends. In addition to his wife, survivors include his parents, Karen and Russell DeRose, of Gainesville, VA, his brother Jonathan DeRose (Christina) of New York, NY, his sister Anne Marie DeRose (Mark Walker) of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, three nephews, a niece, and many extended family members, including his beloved "Aunts", Winona, Pirile, Rosemary and Betty. An open house event to celebrate Rob's life will be held on Friday, November 3 from 6-9:30 PM at Lillstreet Loft, 4437 N. Ravenswood Ave., 2nd Floor, Chicago 60640 (https://www.lillstreetloft.com). In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to one of the following organizations: The Northwestern Brain Tumor Institute's Patient and Family Assistance Fund: http://www.braintumorinstitute.org/contribute/patientfamily/index.cfm; Lakeview Pantry: http://www.lakeviewpantry.org/; Best Friends Animal Society: https://bestfriends.org/about-best-friends; The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless: http://www.chicagohomeless.org/. Information; ELEMENTS, the cremation company, 855-550-5151, www.elementscremaiton.com.