Brian Foix Larson, an architect who left an indelible mark on the Wisconsin landscape, passed away on February 22, 2024, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. He was 88.
He was in hospice care at the Jack Byrne Center of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH, northwest of Laconia, where he and his wife of 63 years, Mildred (Nighswander) Larson, had moved in March, 2023, after 61 years together in Eau Claire, WI. Mildred grew up in Laconia and still has family in the area.
Brian Larson was born on July 6, 1935, in Eau Claire, the son of the late Albert Foix and Dorothy Jean (Thompson) Larson. He was later joined by two sisters, Prudence Stewart and Janet (Byron) Nordstrom, both of whom became adept at not taking any older-brother nonsense.
The family lived in a house designed by Albert Larson, who preceded his son in the field of architecture, on Rust Street in Eau Claire’s Third Ward. Brian made his way through the local school system, graduating from Eau Claire High School in 1953.
After that it was off to the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, where he earned an architecture degree in 1958, guaranteeing a future replete with bowties and eccentric eyewear. He decided to move to Massachusetts, where he undertook internships at firms in Cambridge and Boston.
Brian’s roommate at the time, his friend Don Brown, was dating a woman named Harriet “Happy” Hair, who lived with a former Mount Holyoke classmate, a French teacher named Mildred Nighswander. Brian and Mildred acquiesced to an arranged meeting, and their initial date included dining on a rotisserie chicken—apparently a delicious one.
After much mutual enjoyment of food, culture and conversation, the decision was obvious, and the wedding was held in Laconia in February, 1961, with the couple then settling in Boston. However, in 1962, Brian received an offer to return to Eau Claire to join his father’s architecture firm, Larson, Playter, Smith. It seemed like a valuable opportunity for him to do interesting, fulfilling work in more of a big fish/smaller pond situation. Mildred agreed on the move, though she was at first taken aback at how small the pond was. She adjusted, found friends, fellow French speakers and meaningful projects—eventually retiring as Associate Director of L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library—but never managed to care even the slightest bit about how the Green Bay Packers were faring.
The couple welcomed a son, Urban, in May, 1963, followed by a second boy, Soren, in December, 1966. The family lived for years just four blocks from where Brian grew up, in a comfortable house on Summit Avenue with a backyard that provided hours of fun and exploration for his sons. Later the family moved to a house on Roosevelt Avenue with a lush yard adjoining Putnam Park that gave Brian immense pleasure, despite his endless war with the local squirrels.
Brian’s work schedule became well populated with designs for institutional and educational projects. One of his milestone buildings was the strikingly modern Fine Arts Center at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, as well as a sleek addition and refurbishing of the Eau Claire County Courthouse. He designed the Delong, Manz, Flynn and Lakeshore schools in Eau Claire, as well as South Middle School.
Also on the list: the Syverson Home, the terminal for the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport, various projects for Cray Research, the Dunn County Courthouse, and some private residences. And, of course, the Leinie Lodge at the Leinenkugel’s Brewery in Chippewa Falls, WI.
Historic restoration was also a specialty, and he oversaw updated designs for the Grant County and Langlade County Courthouses and the Busiel Mill in Laconia, just as a partial list. Over a 47-year career, he designed hundreds of buildings throughout Wisconsin and in five other states, including a new headquarters for Ayres Associates, which merged with his firm in 1979 and from which he retired as Vice President, Director of Architecture, in 2004.
His service to his profession and community was also consistent. He sat on several committees for the city of Eau Claire, including the Plan Commission and the Sustainability Advisory Committee. He volunteered for the United Way of Eau Claire, served on the boards of the Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra and Chippewa Valley Museum Foundation, was a loyal member of the local Rotary chapter, and was very active in the local Unitarian Universalist congregation, of which he was a founding member. Brian and Mildred loved to travel but he always remained deeply rooted in Eau Claire and took great pride in the city’s burgeoning arts scene.
He became a juror for the building design division of the Architect Registration Examination, eventually serving as the Chair of Master Jurors for this national licensing exam. In 2010 he received the “Golden Award” from AIA Wisconsin, the state branch of the American Institute of Architects. At that time, James Otto, the President of AIA Wisconsin, said, “Looking at his record of significant service to the organization and contributions to the profession and the public we serve, you would think that the Golden Award was created with Brian Larson in mind.”
Though he often proclaimed himself to be a completely “rational” person who approached life very seriously, he had a strong sense of humor and an affection for the absurd. He was dead set on never putting a bumper sticker on one of the Audis in which he logged thousands of miles meeting clients and inspecting job sites. Yet he enjoyed others’ bumper stickers, with his favorite perhaps being, “So many cats. So few recipes.” Of course, he was decidedly a cat person in real life, with feline pets providing companionship in his homes for most of his adult life. He nurtured a deep love of classical music and professed to detesting rock music and its tangents, though he was partial to “Come Together” by the Beatles, due to its absurdist lyrics. He thought Monty Python’s Flying Circus was downright hilarious. He was quite happy when it came time for him to read “The Hobbit” aloud to his sons, which he did for each one, adopting a different voice for every character. He was inseparable from The New Yorker and his daily dose of The New York Times, while also always having a good novel nearby.
Summers and many holidays were spent relaxing and recreating at the family’s “cottage” on Round Lake in New Auburn, WI, where he swam and canoed, interacted with a host of relatives, manned the grill and shook his fist at those “obnoxious” jet skis.
Besides the many examples of his design skills and the lasting positive effect he had on local institutions, Brian is survived by his wife, Mildred, of Laconia; his son Urban, of Brookline, MA; his son Soren (Gillian Garfinkle Larson) of New York, NY; three grandchildren, Emil, Rowan and Willow Larson; his sister Prudy of Madison, WI; his sister Janet and brother-in-law, Byron Nordstrom, of Le Sueur, MN, and dozens of nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews.
A service will be held Saturday, April 20, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. at the Eau Claire Unitarian Universalist Congregation.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation or the Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra.
His ashes will be scattered near the Chippewa River.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services/603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia NH is assisting the family with the arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial go to wilkinsonbeane.com.