John Bretton, Delawie Principal Emeritus, passed away Tuesday, February 24th.
A man with strong convictions and opinions, John was never afraid to let them be known. He cared for architecture and the profession deeply. His retirement travel included recently completed works of architecture so he could experience them in person, such as The California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. His knowledge was extensive, an office go-to resource for details and technical issues. He functioned as Delawie’s specifications writer for many years and was active in the local Construction Specifications Institute.
His loud and blustery query of “who in the hell drew this detail?” delivered at full volume across the office could scare the uninitiated. It belied his nature as a man that was easy to talk to, keen to help younger staff learn and committed to accomplishing a good project.
Many of us have fond memories of his asking “who the hell are you?” on their first day of work. Or using a soft drafting pencil with such fervor that it embossed lines into your pristine vellum drawing.
John loved to tell a story. He had quite a few, all delivered with his still noticeable Danish accent. Many years ago Delawie was awarded an Onion by the AIA. John gladly accepted the award and gave his speech in his native Danish, telling the audience and judges present that they could go screw themselves and where they should put the award. He said only one person could understand him because John could hear him laughing from the audience.
We’ll miss John stopping by the office on his daily walks and whistling a happy tune.