Daryl S. Rantis

Daryl S. Rantis, 52, of Portland, a loving father of two daughters and a practicing architect for 26 years, passed away Saturday, March 15, 2014, from heart complications. Daryl worked as a residential architect in Portland, Ore., after a two-year role as director of design at Green Hammer Design-Build from 2011-2013. He practiced architecture in Fayetteville from 1990-2003, and was licensed in the states of Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Oregon and Arkansas. A 1985 graduate of Kansas State University, he began his career with Helmut Jahn at Murphy Jahn Architects in Chicago and later worked for the late AIA Gold Medal winner Fay Jones. He is survived by his wife of 20 years, Jennifer Fulford of Portland. He is also survived by two daughters, Cecilia S. Rantis and Camille G. Rantis, also of Portland; his mother, Donna L. Heier of Covington, La., and father, Don Heier of Bloomington, Ill; a sister, Debbie Heier of Lighthouse Point, Fla.; a brother, Baron Desmond of Tylertown, Miss.; and his brother, David Heier of Knoxville, Tenn.; stepparents, George and Charlotte Rantis of West Chester, Ill.; his stepsister, Shannon Quinn of Buffalo, N.Y.; and his stepsister, Tiffany Howard of La Grange, Ill. He had many loving nieces and nephews. Daryl was an early member of the Congress for New Urbanism, a former board member of the Western North Carolina Green Building Council in Asheville, N.C., where he practiced architecture from 2003-11, and the author of a 2013 book of architectural plans for small houses, "Smaller, Simpler, Smarter." His homes were selected this year by Houzz.com as Best of 2014. He was an avid bicyclist and advocate for energy efficiency and solar orientation in home design. A remembrance will be held at the Jewish Community Center in Asheville, N.C., on Sunday, March 30, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that gifts be made to a college trust fund for his daughters, The Fulford Rantis Living Trust, c/o The Bank of Fayetteville, POB 1728, Fayetteville, AR, 72702.