Prominent architect Eugene Pfeifer Levy loved to do design work so much that he retired from Cromwell Architects Engineers last year at age 81 only because of failing health, the Little Rock firm's Charley Penix said Friday.
Levy of Little Rock died Thursday after fighting kidney disease and had entered hospice care three weeks ago, said Penix, Cromwell's chief executive officer.
Levy, 82, had served as president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors for Cromwell Architects Engineers. He joined the firm in 1962, then known as Ginnochio, Cromwell, Carter and Neyland, to work with his father-in-law, Edwin B. Cromwell, according to the Arkansas Institute of Architects.
"He loved architecture," Penix said. "It was really hard for him to retire, because he loved what he did so much. It had become so difficult for him at the age of 81. He was really tired and in bad health and just couldn't do it anymore."
Penix called Levy "a mentor" and worked with Levy to design the Jackson T. Stephens Spine and Neurosciences Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, the largest project they partnered on, he said.
Levy designed commercial projects and "a lot of wonderful houses around Little Rock and other places," separate from his commercial architecture career, Penix said.
" Oftentimes, there would be a client or someone who knew he was talented who would ask 'Will you do me a house?' He couldn't say no," Penix said. "He just wanted to design. He just loved to design."
Levy graduated from Little Rock Central High in 1954 and earned a bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Virginia. Before returning to Little Rock to join Cromwell, Levy was a special projects architect for the U.S. Army Signal Corps at Fort Huachuca in Arizona.
While at Cromwell, Levy expanded the firm's work across the country and around the world, winning more than 40 design awards during his carer, according to the Arkansas Institute of Architects.
"He was always willing to share his knowledge and his perspective on questions when they came up, and it was very much appreciated because his perspective was always very thoughtful," said Brent Stevenson, the institute's executive director.
Levy had been an avid tennis player and active volunteer in Little Rock. His volunteerism included the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Arkansas, the American Red Cross, Fifty for the Future, Temple B'nai Israel, Rotary Club 99 and the State Board of Architects.
Levy also helped people individually, outside of his many group volunteer efforts, Penix said.
Penix recalled when Levy made regular visits to see a former print shop employee for the firm who had been arrested and sentenced to a correctional facility.
"Gene came to me and asked if I would go with him to visit this guy," Penix said. "He had been going to see him every Saturday for months. Here's the head of the company, essentially, going to this correctional facility regularly to see a guy who was very low on the totem pole. I didn't really know that part of him. That made a huge impression on me, just what a decent, kind person he was."
Besides being an award-winning architect, Levy also did "beautiful sketches," Penix said. Levy would even volunteer at fundraisers where participants could bid for his services.
"They would bid for him to come sketch whatever you wanted him to sketch," Penix said. "He did a lot of those. He loved to draw."
Metro on 02/16/2019