
Longtime AIA Pittsburgh supporter Mack Godfrey passed away this past Sunday, September 9th.
During his long tenure at Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, and beyond, Godfrey, understanding the importance and impact of good design on the region was a champion of AIA Pittsburgh’s mission.
Godfrey served as a professional affiliate board member of AIA Pittsburgh for close to a decade and was a good friend to so many in the AIA Pittsburgh community.
Former AIA Pittsburgh board member and principal at Strada Ed Shriver, AIA remembers his friend Mack:
“I first met Mack while on the board of AIA Pittsburgh. We came on about the same time, somewhat unsure about our roles. At least I was unsure. Mack already knew what he wanted to do, had lots of ideas, and approached it like he did everything, with gusto, humor, and sincere concern for the organization.
“He wanted to reach out beyond the design profession, to engage the people who cared about architecture but didn’t really get a voice in things like awards.”
When I first proposed some fairly significant changes to the then current Design Awards program, Mack not only thought it was a great idea but he came up with the idea of the Peoples’ Choice award and immediately offered the support of Columbia Gas, and even worked out how the voting should be done. He wanted to reach out beyond the design profession, to engage the people who cared about architecture but didn’t really get a voice in things like awards.
Mack was like that. Smarter than his good humor and outgoing personality might suggest, he was extremely creative (especially for an engineer), seeing things others did not, and looking beyond the obvious to see bigger opportunities. We’re all better for his contributions, and for his friendship. Mack should have been an architect.”
Arrangements are being made at Beinhauer Funeral Home in McMurray PA and can be found online.
What an honor for Mack. I think I told you we use to play Basketball together. Mack is/was a great guy!! My condolences to you. I lost my youngest and oldest brother I know the pain.
He was my grandfather and he was the best.