Ian MacLeod

Ian Bentham MacLeod

March 14, 1934 - January 10, 2015

Our remarkable father, husband, grandfather, and uncle passed sooner than we wanted, though after more than eighty years spent experiencing the world?s continents in passionate pursuit of all that life has to offer, he?d probably argue that it was as good a time to go as any.? Those fortunate enough to encounter his sly wit and relentless sense of humor could attest to this, as well as to the fact that nary a soul has graced the planet as profoundly gentle and noble as he.

Ian Bentham MacLeod was born in Trinidad to Margaret Bentham and Donald MacLeod. Upon his young father?s passing, Ian?s mother and grandmother, Florence Bentham, raised him together in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Upon remarrying, his mother moved to San Francisco, where Ian attended San Francisco Polytechnic High School and later the University of California at Berkeley, earning a B.A. with Honors in Architecture.

After graduation, Ian met and married Celeste Lipow in 1956. He was drafted into the US Army and stationed in El Paso, Texas for two years. It didn?t take long for his skills to be noticed, and he was thereafter assigned to draft and draw rather than to bear arms.

After returning to Berkeley and earning his Master?s degree in Architecture, Ian moved with Celeste to Copenhagen, Denmark in 1961, where he worked for a locally renowned architect and furniture designer and their son David was born. The following year, they moved to Rome, Italy, where Ian worked as a designer for The Architects Collaborative, founded by Walter Gropius, and their second son Peter was born in 1963.

Upon moving back to California, Ian worked for Warren Callister, then opened an office in 1964 with Peter Walz, a friend and fellow UC Berkeley Architecture graduate. While in their Beach Street location in San Francisco, they met and eventually joined forces with yet another architect, Carl Treffinger, to create the partnership for which they would become renowned, Treffinger, Walz, and MacLeod, now known as TWM Architects. The award-winning firm had a presence for several years in San Francisco, then moved to Marin County, where they ultimately designed and built their beautiful suburban office.

In 1977, Ian married Margaret Goelz and they had two children, Daniel in 1979 and Elizabeth in 1985.? During that time, they relocated to a residence he designed in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains while still maintaining his office presence in the Bay Area.

In the late 1980s, Ian moved to San Rafael, where he raised daughter Elizabeth and then son Daniel. Ian married Andrea Purdy in 1991 and they designed and built a cottage together alonside the San Rafael residence.? Upon Ian?s retirement in 2005, they relocated to Portland, Oregon.?

It is impossible to list all the qualities that made Ian the astoundingly astute and wise-cracking wise man that we?ll always fondly remember.? Though he was never one to toot his own horn, Ian was a brilliant and prolific architect, designing numerous commercial, residential and multifamily projects on the West Coast as well as abroad, including such well-known works as the Victorian offices at Lucasfilm?s Skywalker Ranch and the Allen Elizabethan Theatre at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He was a voracious reader, science, mysteries, and biographies being among his favorites. He was a music aficionado as well with a special love for the sounds of Bach, Vivaldi, Ravel, Coltrane, Brubeck, Janis Joplin and Cream. Ian?s love of the classics extended also to automobiles, owning Morgans, Alfa-Romeos, Aston-Martins, and classic Cadillacs over the years. He was also an avid urban hiker, spotted by many of his friends walking throughout the city of Portland carrying his latest read and enjoying a libation in the late afternoon. Wherever Ian went, he was recognized as an elegant, kind, and respectful soul. Indeed, he brought laughter and light to all who knew him, a true gentleman in every sense of the word.

Ian is survived by his wife Andrea, children David, Peter, Daniel, and Elizabeth, and grandchildren Stuart, Catherine, Joseph, Jacob, Emily, and William.

Ian?s wishes were that a private family event be held.

We miss you so very much, Mr. MacLeod!