Ivey "Lewis" Nix

NIX, Jr., Ivey "Lewis"

Lewis Nix, Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA), passed away peacefully at home on Friday, September 13, 2024, surrounded by his loving family. He was 79 years old and had successfully kept at bay the blood cancer multiple myeloma for over a decade, eventually succumbing to a rare virus of the brain called PML related to his treatment.

Lewis was born on May 17, 1945, in Macon, Georgia, and grew up in McRae, Georgia. He was the son of the late Sarah McArthur Nix and Ivey Lewis Nix. As a child, he discovered such a passion for painting that he built himself an art studio in the backyard, later translating his skill for drawing into a career as an architect. His mother fostered in him an interest in travel and art, and a trip to Europe on the Queen Elizabeth 2 as a teenager inspired his lifelong love affair with France.

In 1963, Lewis earned a scholarship to the University of Virginia, where he received a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1968. He was a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and the Raven Society. Upon graduation, he received an American Institute of Architecture Fellowship and went on to Yale University, where he earned the degree of Master of Environmental Design.

Between graduate school and beginning a teaching job at the University of Maryland, he spent a summer leading tours to Europe. He fell in love with one of the attendees, an Atlanta girl named Maybeth Spalding, whom he married six months later. One of eight children, she always had the house full of friends, family and fine entertainment. They were married for 54 years.

In 1977, Lewis and four other young architects - Henry Mann, Gary Swords, Stuart Aynsley and David Johnson founded the Atlanta architecture firm Nix, Mann and Associates which grew to an Atlanta staff of 125 before being sold to Perkins & Will in Chicago in 1995. Perkins & Will is consistently ranked one of the top U.S. architectural firms.

Lewis always dreamed of owning a residence in Paris, where he felt most inspired and at home. In 1997, that dream came true, and he spent the next three decades visiting multiple times per year. He also loved helping others plan trips around France through a travel company he founded in 1986, France Unique, and a "Let's Go to France!" class he taught through Evening at Emory.

Lewis was a member of the Piedmont Driving Club, the Yale Club of New York City and the Atlanta Rotary Club. He held a variety of board positions with charitable organizations.

His children are Spalding McArthur Nix married to Aimee Bowles Nix, Sarah Sullivan Nix Hunter married to Chris Hunter, and Laura Phinizy Nix Fryer married to Gibbs Fryer.

Lewis always said that he liked to be covered in grandchildren; the more chaos the better. He delighted in his family and expressed his love often and in abundance. His grandchildren are Lucille Louisa Hunter, Frances Sullivan Hunter, Audrey Bolling Nix, Sarah Reynolds Nix, Hamilton Hughes Fryer, Spalding Patton Fryer and Sullivan Sade Fryer.

He is also survived by his dear sister, Sarah Jane Nix Smith, PhD, who was always an inspiration to him in her thirst for knowledge and her deep intellect.

A funeral service will be held at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Atlanta on Tuesday, September 24, 2024 at 11:00 AM with a reception following at the Piedmont Driving Club. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (themmrf.org) or the Sarah McArthur Nix Traveling Fellowship at the University of Virginia's School of Architecture.