Rurik F. Ekstrom

Rurik F. Ekstrom died on February 2, 2005, at a Fargo, N.D. hospital due to complications related to diabetes. Rik was born on October 30, 1934, in White Plains, N.Y. Raised in Richmond, he attended St. Christopher's School until his graduation in 1952. He married Judith B. Weaver of Richmond in 1955. Rik received his bachelor of architecture from the University of Virginia in 1957 and his master of fine arts from Yale University in 1961. After beginning his own architectural practice in the Washington, D.C. area in 1965, Rik was appointed an associate professorship at the University of Maryland's newly founded School of Architecture. Over successive years, he established architecture firms in Baltimore; North Adams, Mass.; and Richmond. He served as director of the Hoosuck Institute in North Adams and was a faculty member at MIT's Architectural and Planning Laboratories. He also served on numerous planning commissions and architectural commissions in several states. In 1977, he married Mary Oswald of Baltimore. Mary serves in the North Dakota House of Representatives for District 11 and is managing partner of Ekstrom & Associates in Fargo. The couple moved to Fargo in 1989, where Rik served as professor and chairman of the Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at North Dakota State University. From 1997 to the present time, Rik led Ekstrom & Associates and served as an environmental and historic preservation specialist for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He was a registered architect in six states. Over the course of his career, Rik won numerous awards for his work, including the Presidential National Achievement Award, the Classical America Award and the Historic Richmond Award. His projects have been published in media such as Architectural Record, Architectural Review, Time and The Washington Post, among others, and in several books. Rik was equally passionate about learning new things and passing his knowledge on to others. He had a fondness for history and an expertise in the preservation of historic structures. Utilizing his architectural skill to serve the poor and promote education were interests he pursued throughout his life. For the pro bono work he did on behalf of Churches United for the Homeless, Rik won a special award from the North Dakota AIA. Rik is survived by his wife; two daughters, Elisabeth B. Ekstrom of Oakland, Calif. and Ingrid H. Ekstrom of Berkeley, Calif.; a son, Rurik M. Ekstrom of New York, N.Y.; a sister, Elisabeth E. Dementi of Richmond; and four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His great spirit, humor and inspiration will be very much missed.