Thomas Richard Shoaff *34

Thomas Richard Shoaff, a Fort Wayne, Ind., architect, died May 13, 2005. He was 96.

Well before the age of motorized travel, Shoaff was born in a horse-drawn carriage en route to the hospital in Fort Wayne. Except for brief forays away to gain an education — a bachelor's degree from Williams College and a master's in architecture from Princeton — and Navy service in World War II, he devoted his life to the architectural, civic, and artistic growth of his hometown.

Shoaff is survived by his wife, Phyllis; five children; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.