Michael Dobson ’68

Mike died of a brain tumor June 1, 2010, at his home in Kennebunkport, Maine. He was 63.  

He prepared at Brunswick School in Greenwich, Conn. At Princeton he majored in classics, writing his thesis on Plato for Professor Walter R. Connor. He ate at Colonial and lived in 1938. After Princeton, he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in landscape architecture from Penn, studying under the renowned landscape architect Ian McHarg.  

Mike lived in Rowayton, Conn., and worked mostly in Connecticut, Vermont, and Maine designing landscapes and buildings “informed by a deep sense of place, a love and feel for materials and light, and a commitment to the ideals of classical design,” his family said. Mike once said, “Creating landscapes is working in four dimensions — the usual three, plus the dimension of time.”  

Mike is survived by his wife, Laurie Goodrich Dobson, five children, David and Adam Wilson and Jesse, Lily, and Emma Cutler; his brother, Joseph; and sister Parrish.

A memorial service was held July 11 at Dingletown Community Church in Greenwich. His ashes were buried in the church’s memorial garden, designed by Mike in memory of his parents. To his survivors, the class extends its deepest sympathy.