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Professor Emeritus S. Glen Paulsen Passes Away at the Age of 95

Professor Emeritus S. Glen Paulsen Passes Away at the Age of 95

Michigan architect S. Glen Paulsen died at the age of 95 on November 25, 2012, at his home in Chelsea, Michigan. He was preceded in death in 2011 by his wife and indispensable partner of 67 years Virginia H. Paulsen—Jennie, and his granddaughter Joy Lynn Marshall. Glen’s sister Helen MacInnis and her husband Don also are deceased. Still living are children Thomas Paulsen and his wife Rita of Derby, Connecticut, and Nancy Marshall, husband John (deceased), now of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Glen and Jennie’s remaining grandchildren are Jordan Marshall and his wife Victoria, Anthony Marshall and his wife Kristy, and Tristan Paulsen; great grandchildren are Cassandra Paulsen, Aaron and Malek Rickett (Marshall), and Bella Joy Marshall.

Glen discovered architecture when he was a junior in high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Architecture became his life-long passion. He attended three schools to acquire his professional education. WWII interrupted his education at The University of Illinois, and he completed his degree after the war at The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. His last formal education was acquired at the Royal Academy of Arts, Stockholm, through an American Scandinavian Foundation Fellowship.

The next most influential experience of Glen’s career came from his association with Eliel and Eero Saarinen. This was the beginning of Glen’s career in Michigan and also of his association with and love for Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills. The artists and architects he met throughout his career became life-time friends and, together, their generation shaped post-war modern architecture.

Glen taught architecture for many years at the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and also enjoyed a long association with Cranbrook Academy of Art. From 1966-1970, Glen served as president of the Art Academy while continuing as head of the architecture studio and operating Glen Paulsen and Associates. GPA merged with Tarapata, MacMahon Associates of Bloomfield Hills in 1969, becoming TMP Architecture. Inc. In addition, Glen was pleased to be a member of the Michigan Society of Architects and an AIA Fellow.

Gifted with the ability to form lasting relationships with his students and colleagues, Glen was a natural mentor. It was gratifying to him that many of the men and women he taught and mentored kept in touch with him throughout their careers. Their letters, calls, and visits gave him a great deal of pleasure.

Glen’s memorial service will be held at the First United Methodist Church, 128 Park St., Chelsea, Michigan 48118, on December 8, 2012, at 2 pm. A reception will follow the service.

Glen was focused on leaving a legacy to help the educational institutions he loved. If you would like to share in his legacy, contributions in his memory may be made to either of the following: Taubman College of Architecture Alumni Scholarship Endowment, UM, 2000 Bonisteel Blvd, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, or The S. Glen Paulsen Memorial Fund, c/o Cranbrook Academy of Art, PO Box 801, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303-0801.