George E. Kassabaum | |
Alma Mater: | Washington University in St. Louis |
Birth Place: | Atchison, Kansas, U.S. |
Spouse: | Marjory Verser Kassabaum Graff |
George E. Kassabaum (December 5, 1920 – August 14, 1982) was an American architect, and one of the co-founders of the HOK architectural firm.[1]
George Edward Kassabaum was born in Atchison, Kansas. He was the only child of George Kassabaum and Dorothy Kassabaum. From a very young age he expressed an interest in becoming an architect.[2] He graduated from Classen Senior High School in Oklahoma City in 1938.
He attended Washington University in St. Louis[3] where he met his future partners, George Hellmuth and Gyo Obata.[4] [5] He earned both a bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture before graduating in 1947.
Kassabaum graduated in 1947 and began working for a local architecture firm in St. Louis founded by two faculty members of Washington University.
In 1955,[6] he co-founded Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum, now known as HOK.[4]
He was national president of the American Institute of Architects from 1968 to 1969.[4]
Kassabaum was a board member of Washington University and an Eliot Society president.[7]
Kassabaum married Marjory Verser in 1949. The couple had three children: Douglas, Anne, and Karen.[8]
Kassabaum died at Barnes Hospital, St. Louis, on August 14, 1982, at the age of 61, having suffered a stroke three days earlier at his home in Ladue, a suburb of St. Louis.