William Albert Lanier, "Albert" to all who knew him, died peacefully in San Francisco in the company of his life-long partner and wife of 59 years, Ruth Asawa, and family, the result of a long illness. Albert practiced architecture in The City for fifty years and was a mentor to many. His projects included the Mercy Terrace Apartments, the Monsignor Lyne Community, and the Youth Hostel at Fort Mason, but he earned his good reputation chiefly as a residential architect. Albert Lanier homes are spacious, light, warm, and personal. He was concerned not so much with what buildings look like but how people can live in them comfortably and creatively. Albert was born to Weylud Hudson Lanier and Bernice Bird in Metter, Georgia. At age 16, he entered Georgia Tech to study architecture, but interrupted his studies to serve in the Navy during World War II. In 1948 he attended Black Mountain College, the pioneering art school, where he absorbed the forward-thinking ideas of his teachers Josef Albers and Buckminster Fuller, and where he met his wife Ruth Aiko Asawa. In 1949, Albert married Ruth in San Francisco. Their home in Noe Valley was a vibrant, community meeting place for artists, misfits, neighborhood activists, and friends for five decades. Albert was a superb storyteller in the Southern tradition and an avid gardener. His philosophy was "Renovate, don't demolish. And if you demolish, compost." Albert was a passionate advocate for public education and was instrumental in helping to establish SOTA, the School of the Arts High School. He oversaw the first renovation of the Noe Valley Library in 1985. He successfully campaigned to preserve the Piazzoni Murals at the de Young Museum and the dome on Mission High School. He was active in Mission District politics in the 1970s, helping to establish Bethany Senior Center and the Mexican-style open market at 22nd and Mission Streets. He served on the San Francisco Landmarks Board by invitation of then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein, who later fired him for being "abrasive." Albert made the architectural drawings for many of his wife's public commissions, including Andrea, the Mermaid Fountain at Ghirardelli, the Aurora Fountain on the Embarcadero, and the Hyatt on Union Square Fountain, which was constructed in the basement studio and the backyard of their home. He was a dear friend to the late photographer Imogen Cunningham, with whom he shared a birthday and a love of plants and city gossip. Albert adored his ten grandchildren, all of whom grew up, to his great delight, in Noe Valley. At the end of his life, he recorded the stories of his Southern childhood. One story recounted a conversation he overheard many times between a Miss Ruby Waters and the town butcher. The butcher would ask, "What kind of chicken do you want for Sunday supper, Miss Ruby?" And Miss Ruby would respond, "I want a chicken with a breast like Miss Brunie Turner and the drumsticks like those on Miss Nora White," and so on until every part of the chicken had been linked to a matron in town. Albert is survived by his wife of 59 years, Ruth, and five of their children: Xavier, Aiko (Cuneo), Hudson, Addie, and Paul, all of San Francisco. His son Adam predeceased him. He is also survived by his sons- or daughters-in-law Geraldine Lanier, Larry Cuneo, Terry Lanier, Peter Weverka, and Sandra Halladey. Albert leaves behind ten grandchildren Christopher, Ken, Xavier, Hudson, Max, Lilli, Aiko Sofia, Henry, Emma and William; two great-grandchildren Cameron and Avery; his sister Helen Strickland of Lakeland, Georgia; and many loving relatives in Georgia. The Lanier-Asawa family would like to thank Li Everett and the wonderful staff of Kaiser Hospital and long-time caregivers Rosario To-Ong, Luz Avestruz, Julita Camasura, Marielou Mercado, Ellen Tullao, Rosella Hiponia, Glendy Bettencourt, and Nora Salazar and personal assistant Lori Schafer. A memorial service will be held at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1187 Franklin Street in San Francisco, at 12:00 noon on Thursday, November 20, 2008. In lieu of flowers, the family requests making a donation to the charity of your choice.

Published in San Francisco Chronicle on Nov. 9, 2008.