Iver Edward Lofving

Iver Edward Lofving
SOUTH PORTLAND -- Iver Edward Lofving, of South Portland and Swans Island, died on Aug. 25, 2013, at Springbrook, Westbrook. He was born on July 12, 1931, in NYC, to Wilma Christianson and Per August Lofving, both originally from Stockholm, Sweden. His first language was Swedish. A brother Ivar, age 8, died before his birth.
He graduated from Stuyvesant High School and the University of Pennsylvania with an architectural degree. He studied historic preservation at Columbia.
He worked for Kenneth Day, Philadelphia, Pa., during and after college, on residences. He then worked for Philip Johnson in NYC on such projects as Seagrams Building and Lincoln Center. He was a partner in Oppenheimer, Brady and Lehrecke, where he worked on Worlds Fair pavilions, Fraunces Tavern, and various banks where he always specified ship models be exhibited. He had an office in Katonah, N.Y. where he designed mostly houses in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Maine.
He taught architecture design and history courses at N.Y. School of Interior Design, Parsons School of Design, and was a professor at N.Y. Institute of Technology. After retirement to Swans Island he continued to practice architecture on Swans Island and abroad (the U.S. mainland). He was a carpenter too, built small buildings with the help of his children, and did most of the interior trim in his own buildings.
Medical care for a son meant more time spent in the south of Maine in the '90s. Iver taught at OLLI at USM and at Maine College of Art. He also traveled around the country to teach architectural history to masons for the Masonry Union Institute. He lectured at many retirement communities to people well traveled and versed in architecture. He also talked to his children who learned a lot but occasionally balked, as on the Swedish island of Gotland when they felt they had seen too many of the 94 medieval churches.
Early on, Iver wanted to be a sculptor but after visits to Sweden with his grandfather, a carpenter, seeing buildings he had designed, Iver decided on architecture, and later used his grandfather's ideas in houses. His Swedish uncles had served on sailing ships and made models with him. Iver built a small model European railroad, which he worked on all his life.
He enjoyed gardening and his goats and chickens (who, alas, liked vegetables, too). He built dinghies in the basement, and he also made train and ship models
Iver Edward Lofving
and models of his house designs.
Mostly, he loved sailing. His first boat was a folding German canvas sailboat that fit in the boot of the Volkswagon Beetle along with the twins. Half the time was spent assembling and disassembling. Next was his Bullseye MOONSPINNER off Rowayton, Conn., then his 1964 Rhodes Ranger MORA off Swans, mostly single handed. It was the oldest boat in the harbor, built in Holland, but sturdy, kissing rocks here and there but never seriously. When called, he helped deliver sailboats, sailing often day and night to Canada or south to Maryland. When on Swans in the winter he kept his boat in the water and on bright chilly but sunny days, he would, if lobstermen were out, take a sail. He even found time to be a sculptor and had a show at the June Fitzpatrick Gallery.
He wrote articles equally on architecture and sailing for publications such as Practical Sailor, Island News, Sail Magazine, and Maine Boats, Homes, and Harbors, where he was also on the masthead.
Near the end of his life, he did not easily make the beautiful leaps that sailors make from their dinghies up onto the boats, and we are grateful to the fishermen of Swans who kept a quiet eye on him and rescued him when necessary, so he could sail another day. No one is quite sure when he had his last sail. As his son Iver says, 'we can see him now, going out past the lighthouse, his dinghy dancing behind, hand on the tiller, one with the boat, heeled over, sails full, a good wind behind, on a lovely breezy day, off to meet friends or visit another island.'
He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Sally (Sara) Middendorf Lofving of South Portland and Swans Island; twin sons, Per Henry Lofving and wife Martha Evans of Montclair, N.J., Iver William Lofving and wife Maili Bailey of Skowhegan, daughter Camilla Kristina Lofving of South Portland, and former husband Frank Hersfeldt of Copenhagen, Denmark; and grandchildren, Amelia Seahorse Lofving of Berlin, Germany, Alex Hersfeldt and fiance Emily of Copenhagen, Denmark, Nikolai Hersfeldt of South Portland, and Lila Lofving of Montclair, N.J. He was predeceased in 2012 by his son, Tore Christian Lofving, engineer, of Cobleskill, N.Y.
He will join Tore on Swans at Rose Hill Cemetery at a time to be determined.
We are grateful to the nurses, assistants, aides, social workers, and staff at Springbrook who gave him wonderful care and smiles.
In lieu of flowers, please consider Maine Seacoast Mission.