Eulogy for Gary Timan Vigen, AIA

Gary Timan Vigen was born to Timan and Hazel Vigen in Grand Forks, North Dakota on January 12, 1947, he was their only child.  His father, Timan, owned and operated a construction company and Gary started doing finish carpentry work at the young age of 12.  He found out that Architects tell contractors what to do and decided then to become an Architect …after becoming an Architect; he realized that the clients told the Architects what to do.

Gary graduated with a BA in Architecture in 1972 from the University of Arizona in Tucson.  He then returned to the mid-West and settled in Duluth, Minnesota and became a licensed Architect in Minnesota in 1976.  At the time of his passing, he held Architectural Licenses in nine additional states; a Contractor’s License and was a licensed Real Estate Broker.  He was a “very” busy man.

In March of 1978, he moved to California to join the firm of Robert Stevens Associates to become the Project Architect on the Fresno State Bulldog Stadium, it was at Robert Stevens office where Gary met Cissie.  They married in May of 1979.  At that time, Gary affiliated himself with Lew-Patnaud Architects.

His parents moved from North Dakota to Fresno, arriving a week before their granddaughters arrived.  Gary and Cissie’s twin daughters, Sarah Lynd Vigen and Laurah Timan Vigen were born on September 5^th, 1980.

The following week, Gary started his own practice and together Cissie and Gary began the journey together.  Everything was in place.

 Gary was a member of the Optimist Club, the Rotary, and member of the Board of Calif. School of Psychology, he was a past Chairman of the City of Fresno Urban Task Force, Mid-Rise/High Density Sub Committee, the American Institute of Architects, NCARB, and was currently a chairman on the Tower Design Review Committee.  He was also President of the San Joaquin Chapter of the AIA for the years 2000 and 2001.

Gary did multitudes of projects in California and Minnesota, in both the private and Commercial sectors.

Gary’s was so honored and proud of the numerous design awards he received, some of the most notable being:

-Award for Best Store Design – McDonald’s 30^th Anniversary Restaurant, in Fresno (Gary has been a long standing Architect for McDonald’s for 27 years    -  Another “Satisfied” Customer!)

-Design award Commercial Classification – Blackstone Bowl & Retail Center, Sierra Village Shopping Center in Fresno

-Award for Best Exterior/New Classification – Blackstone Bowl, Sierra Village Shopping Center in Fresno

-Award for Design Excellence Industrial Classification – Motion Designs (Quickie Wheelchairs) in Fresno

-Award of Excellence for Masonry – Ewing Irrigation Offices/Warehouse in Fresno

-Award of Merit – Clinter Station, U.S. Post Office, in Fresno

In 1995, he was awarded

-The San Joaquin Chapter A.I. A. Award of Merit for the Vigen Residence here in Fresno.  Many of you will remember it as “that metal house on Ashlan”, it was truly a “Gary Vigen designed house”.  The extraordinary thing about this house was that the entire Vigen Family, Gary, Cissie, Sarah and Laurah built this house themselves from the vacant lot to the finished home. He once told

me that it took a long time for him to even “look at another sheet metal screw, since there was 50 thousand of them!” 

How people are remembered after they pass on depends on their deeds, their misdeeds, their style, their work, their successes, their sense of humor, their integrity, their ability to mentor, and the special memories they created     What is it that we will remember when we think of Gary?  There are so many things, it’s hard to pick just one, because all of the above and more describes Gary. 

He will be deeply missed by all whose lives he touched.