Hugo Roomann *57

Hugo Roomann, prominent Cincinnati architect, died June 1, 2006. He was 83.

Born in Tallinn, Estonia, in 1923, Rooman escaped the Soviet occupation of Estonia during World War II, fled to Finland, and fought for that country against the Russian invasion there. He lost a leg to gangrene from a war injury.

While living in West Germany after the war, he graduated from Braunschweig University with a degree in architecture. He came to the United States in 1951 with his wife and infant daughter, with few funds and many dreams.

Roomann was admitted to the Princeton Graduate School of Architecture in 1955 and graduated with an MFA in 1957, succeeding in learning his fourth language (after Estonian, Finnish, and German). He worked in his own two-man architectural firm in New Jersey until he joined the prominent architectural and engineering firm of A.M. Kinney Co. in Cincinnati, working there from 1966 until retiring as a partner in 1989.

Roomann was active in Estonian-American organizations, the AIA, and the Princeton Club, among other organizations.

His wife of 60 years, Raja, died two months before him. He is survived by two daughters and four grandchildren.