JOHN GALSTON

GALSTON--John Wood. Architect, Urbanist, Developer, and Educational Bene- factor: John Wood Galston, died peacefully in his Colorado Springs home on April 30, 2022. He was surrounded in his final weeks by loved ones. John was born on November 5, 1940, to Clarence E. Galston and Constance Matthiessen (his first wife). They divorced in 1952. John was Nina Moore Shields Galston's stepson. John attended the Greenvale School on Long Island and later graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1958. He earned a B.S. in Psychology cum laude from Tufts University in 1962. In 1965 he earned an M.Arch degree from Yale, where he was awarded the AIA's Henry Adams Medal. As a Fulbright Scholar, he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Architecture in Copenhagen, returning to Washington DC in 1966 as an associate with Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM). John was appointed by President Johnson as Director of the Temporary Commission on Pennsylvania Ave., working under his mentor and the chairman of the Commission, Nathaniel Owings, Managing Partner of SOM. John oversaw the development of a comprehensive master plan for the nation's capital. Many elements were constructed, among them the Capitol Reflecting Pool. He became a partner at SOM in 1974. In 1970 John married Mary Lou (ML) Dennin. In 1974 they moved with their first child, Alexandra, to New York City, where John founded Envicon Capital Corporation, a real estate development company that managed residential and commercial projects across the United States. With two more children, Jay and Matthew, the family moved to Cold Spring Harbor, NY in 1980. The children attended East Woods School, founded by Clarence (Bud) Galston and a few friends. From 1982-86, John served as President of the East Woods Board, the first of many educational initiatives. All three Galston children attended Phillips Exeter, and John served on the Academy's Alumni Council Board. John was active in Young Presidents Organization and later World President's Organization (WPO), eventually serving on its Board. Fellow WPO members will remember John as a talented curator of unforgettable global events and as a natural leader of leaders. Following ML's death in 2003, John married Linda McColl. They settled in Colorado Springs and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where John became involved in a local effort to establish a bilingual school, Colegio Americano (CA). He fostered a close relationship between CA and the Phillips Exeter faculty, who provided training and advice to the CA faculty and administrators. Today, CA is called, The Harkness Institute and is widely considered the top secondary school in Latin America. John enriched the lives of all those around him. John was predeceased by Mary Lou Dennin Galston, his wife of thirty-three years. He is survived by Linda, his wife of eighteen years; three children, Alexandra Murray, New York, NY, Jay Galston, Los Angeles, CA, and Matthew Galston, Copenhagen, Denmark; his siblings, Virginia Galston Walsh, Los Angeles, CA, Linda Galston Fates, Ipswich, MA, and stepbrother William Shields, Hamilton, MA; and six grandchildren: Madeline and Caitlin Murray (New York, NY), Charlie and Ben Galston (Los Angeles, CA), and Marshall and Caroline Galston (Copenhagen, Denmark). Memorial service at St. John's Episcopal Church, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, August 6th at 10:00am. John may be remembered by making donations to Save the Children, and the Harkness Institute, Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico.