William Brooks Cavin

Cavin William Brooks Cavin Jr., 88, died Thurs., Dec. 19, 2002, at Wake Robin, Shelburne, VT. He was born Nov. 3, 1914 in Philadelphia, PA, the son of William Brooks Cavin and Sara Newcomer Cavin. Brooks was an Eagle Scout, and graduated from George School near Philadelphia. He earned a BA in 1937, from Harvard College, where he was captain of the wrestling team. Brooks married Dorothy Jane Pickett on Dec. 26, 1939. After earning a Master's in Architecture from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard under Walter Gropius, he worked in Washington, D.C., for Eero Saarinen. Winning an international design competition for the Veterans Service Building on the Capitol grounds in St. Paul brought the young architect to Minnesota in 1946. He joined the faculty of the School of Architecture at the University of Minnesota, where he taught for 20 years. During his career, Brooks was active in historic preservation: reconstructing Ft. Snelling and the Governor Ramsey Carriage House, and restoration of the Old Federal Courts Building in St. Paul. These projects are now listed on the National Register. He received awards for designs for Central Apartments in St. Paul, The Andersen Window Corp. office building in Bayport, and he received an award for outstanding service to his profession from the Minnesota Society of Architects. Brooks was elected to the College of Fellows of The American Institute of Architects in 1975. Brooks delighted in hearing that people enjoyed living in the spaces he created with his designs. He was a president of the Prospect Park and E. River Road Improvement Association. He was a charter member of the Mpls. Heritage Preservation Commission; member of the MN Historic Sites Advisory Comm., and the MN Review Comm. for the National Register, and an officer of the Ramsey County and St. Paul Historical Society. He was a scout leader, and also enjoyed tennis, fishing and listening to classical music. Whe his beloved wife, Dorothy, passed away in 1994, Mr. Cavin moved to Wake Robin. Mr. Cavin is survived by sons, Brooks Cavin III and his wife Rita Cavin, and Edward Cavin and his wife Molly Conlin Cavin; daughters, Anne Windsor Cavin and the Rev. Barbara Cavin; and son, Tom Cavin and his wife Chris Ranz Cavin. He is also survived by grandchildren, Brooks Michael, Sara, Laura, Alex, Taylor and Meredith. A memorial service will be held at Wake Robin, with interment taking place in Minneapolis at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Alzheimer's Association of Vermont, 338 River St., Montpelier, VT 05602, or to the Dorothy Cavin Memorial Fund for Parkinson's Research, c/o Minnesota Medical Foundation, 200 Oak St SE, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55455.

Published on December 21, 2002