Kenneth Maynard
Aug 16, 1931 -
Mar 5, 2020
Kenneth D. Maynard, FAIA, 88, passed away on March 5, 2020. He was born in Hackensack, N.J., on Aug. 16, 1931, to Douglas and Eva Maynard, two South Africans whose families trace back to the 1820 settlers there. His parents had immigrated to the United States to escape a depression, had two sons, then moved back in the mid-1930s. Ken grew up in Johannesburg and rode his bike to high school every day, often grabbing the bumper of a truck for an assist up longer hills. He enjoyed sports and was a successful boxer, coming in second in the featherweight division of the intercollegiate national championships. His height of almost 6' gave him a great reach advantage in a division that limited one to 126 pounds.
He attended the Universities of Natal and Witwatersrand, graduating from the latter with a degree in architecture. While going to school, he worked for Anglo-American designing projects for their mining operations all across southern Africa, including whole new communities for new mines. He spent one year doing nothing but drafting cabinetry details.
When he was 17, his family moved onto the same street as the James family. Their youngest daughter fell in love with Ken at first sight and told a friend on the school bus that she was going to marry the boy that had just ridden by. It took a few years of planning and scheming on her part before he married Myrna on Feb. 4, 1956. They moved to Empangeni in Zululand, but returned to Johannesburg a year later to have their first child, Colin. A second, Vivien, followed 17 months later.
Two days after their wedding, his brother, Les, set off for Alaska based on stories of a surveyor he met in an automat. Les sent home glowing reports of life in Anchorage and Ken spotted a rendering of Ed Crittenden's St. Mary's Church in an Olympic Stain ad in an architectural magazine. He knew he could work with such an architect and started corresponding. Ed told him that he couldn't hire him off his portfolio, but to come talk to him, if Ken ever made it to Anchorage. Based on that, in October 1960, he flew 48 hours, slept 48 hours, and went to see Ed. Ed didn't have a job open, but he spent several hours talking to Ken about the three other firms and the state and federal agencies that hired architects, plus architecture in Alaska, in general.
Ken got a job the next day with Manley and Mayer. He brought Myrna and the two kids over in February 1961. He shifted to the FAA, to satisfy his wife's desire to "get out of this god-forsaken place." But Ed called with a job offer in 1962, forever shelving that escape plan. He was at that office when the great 1964 earthquake occurred and worked on the post-earthquake damage evaluation program. He worked for Crittenden for three years, earned his South African and Alaskan architectural licenses, and started his own firm in 1965.
For the first decade, he would have different firms almost every two years. First came Schultz-Maynard with a man he had worked with at the FAA. Then on his own as Ken Maynard, Architect. Maynard & Wirum followed, when Harold left Crittenden's office to join Ken. Ken Maynard and Associates was the next incarnation followed by a partnership with the Seattle firm Naramore, Bain, Brady, and Johanson (NBBJ) in 1974 for a three-year trial period. They had collaborated on a number of projects before and it seemed like a good fit. But he was not allowed to give his employees the bonuses he felt that they earned, which led him to dissolve Maynard/NBBJ Alaska after two years. He formed a partnership with Howard Partch that lasted 20 years. The association continued when they were made an offer by USKH that they couldn't refuse. He worked there until his retirement in 2011.
Ken loved architecture. He often worked seven days a week. He would sketch details on paper place mats where the family was having dinner. Working to meet deadlines was a family affair. Ken would be editing specifications, Myrna typing and printing them, and the two kids collating them. Vacations were often centered around the Northwest Region American Institute of Architects (AIA) convention. He served on the AIA Committee on Design for a number of years and eventually became an AIA National Board member. He was the second architect in Alaska awarded an AIA Fellowship.
His projects span Alaska and won many awards. They include the first three phases of the Anchorage Museum of History and Art in 1967, 1973 and 1982, the Cook Inlet Region Inc. office building on C Street, the USPS Midtown Post Office, Oceanview Elementary School, Dale Street Clinic, Charter North, 800 F Street office building, and the National Bank of Alaska Building at 4th and E - now Hard Rock Cafe. Outside Anchorage, projects included a number of Mat-Su Valley elementary schools, Point Hope School, Tin City Radar Facility, the A-10 Squadron Operations Facility at Eielson AFB, and the Golden Anchor Consolidated Club at the Kodiak Coast Guard Base.
He also loved the Anchorage community and volunteered for many different organizations over the years. This included the Boy Scouts of America, Western Alaska Council, for which he started out helping to start new Packs and Troops and became the President of the Board, earning the Silver Beaver for his efforts. He also used his architectural skills for them by designing their office building and Camp Gorsuch's dining hall and ranger cabin. He served on the Boards of the Anchorage Opera, Salvation Army and World Affairs Council, among others. He was one of the architects on the Board of Building Regulation Examiners and Appeals for the Municipality of Anchorage, serving as chair. He served one term on the Alaska architectural licensing board.
He is survived by his son, Colin (Pattie) Maynard; daughter, Vivien (Neil) Noll; grandson, Douglas Regan; granddaughter, Melanie Regan; three great-grandchildren, Wyatt, Holton and Sorrel Beckman; sister-in-law, Jean Maynard; nephew, Douglas Maynard; and nieces, Lori France, Jennifer Maynard and Daphne Slater. Services will be at the Petroleum Club at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 13, 2020. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the AIA Alaska College Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 244141, Anchorage, AK 99524.
