Theodore W. Kleinsasser ’51 *56

Bill was born Aug. 25, 1929, in Alexandria, S.D., the son of T.W. and Mabel Borgendale Kleinsasser.

He attended Everett High School in Maryville, Tenn. At Princeton he majored in architecture, roomed with Jack Davison, Fred Riehl, and Vic Rizzzi, and belonged to Tiger Inn. Bill was one of ’51’s football greats: In 1950 the Poe Trophy was awarded to George Chandler, Jack Davison, Reddy Finney, and Bill.

He served in the Airborne Artillery for two years and then returned to Princeton to earn an M.F.A. in architecture in 1956, the same year that he married Ann Biester. Thereafter he studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in France. For some years he was in private practice in Doylestown, Pa. Bill also worked for Marc J. Saugey in Geneva, Switzerland, and Louis I. Kahn in Philadelphia.

In 1965 he became professor of architecture at the University of Oregon in Eugene, where he taught for 34 years. A gifted teacher, he is particularly remembered for his introductory text, Synthesis, and his study of the works of Henry Chapman Mercer.

Bill died of esophageal cancer Sept. 22, 2010. He is survived by Ann and their children, Katherine, Annie Holland, and William, and five grandchildren.