Richard Elliott Powell
January 24, 2007
Richard E. Powell, former Naval Officer and architect, died of lung cancer on January 24, 2007, at the age of 78.

Born in Springfield, Mass., and raised in Pennsylvania, he was a graduate of Lower Merion High School in 1946, where he was a member of the National Honor Society.

In 1951, Mr. Powell graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a Bachelor of Science in Building Construction; in 1959, he obtained his Bachelor of Architecture, also from RPI. While in college, he excelled not only in academics, having been selected to appear in the 1949-50 edition of Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, but also in athletics, playing four years of varsity football and lacrosse and becoming the 12th athlete inducted into the RPI Hall of Fame. In 1949 and 1950, he was selected as a member of the All American Lacrosse Team; in 1948, he had the rare opportunity to play lacrosse in London, England, at the XIV Olympiad.

After college, Mr. Powell spent three years in the Navy, where he was a lieutenant for the U.S. Seventh Fleet during the Korean War aboard both the battleship New Jersey and the USS Manchester. He administered a division of Naval Technicians responsible for Gunnery Fire Control Systems and was awarded a Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V. When receiving his release from active duty from the Navy, one of his commanding officers described Mr. Powell as a “conscientious, thorough man of high moral character, steadiness, temperance and dignity.”

In 1965, Dick, together with Peter Q. Bohlin, co-founded the architectural firm of Bohlin and Powell in Wilkes-Barre, where he spent 25 years as a partner and retired in 1990. The firm, currently Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, with four additional offices in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Seattle and San Francisco is known internationally for its work.

Employees of the firm knew Dick as a beloved mentor, something of a living legend, and a great friend. Dick was responsible for instituting the firm’s business practices, which are followed to this day, along with the foundations of the technical rigor that have been instrumental to the firm’s reputation built over 42 years.

Through his extraordinary mentoring qualities, Dick profoundly affected each of his many colleagues. The nature, diversity and extent of Bohlin (Powel) Cywinski Jackson’s design achievements would not have been possible without him. The firm’s traditions of rooting design in the many realities of circumstance and in the interaction of clients and colleagues are owed in large measure to Dick.

Mr. Powell leaves behind his wife of 44 years, Lois; his daughter Loie; grandson Michael; and brother George.

In celebration of his life, relatives and friends are invited to a reception in the Conservatory at White Horse Village, 535 Gradyville Road, Newtown Square, PA, on Saturday, February 24, from 1 to 4 p.m. Condolences may also be sent to his wife, Lois Powell, at 535 Gradyville Road, V126, Newtown Square, PA 19073.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made either to The Battleship New Jersey, www.battleshipnewjersey.org/support, or to the Senior Choir of The Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, 525 Montgomery Ave., Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, checks made payable to Fine Arts Council, BMPC, with “Senior Choir” on the memo line.