Louis Moll

Louis de Moll was born and raised in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania and a 1942 graduate of Swarthmore High School along with his high school sweetheart, Carol Maude Froebel de Moll. Loving companions for 63 years, Lou and Carol lived in Rose Valley, PA - just three miles down the road and across the creek until their move to White Horse. He is survived by his five children: Lane, Cathy, Kip, Lauren and Meg, his sons-in-law and his thirteen grandchildren and three great grandchildren, all of whom knew and loved him as their dearest "Grumps."



A World War II veteran, Lou entered the US Army in 1943 after a semester at the University of Pennsylvania. He was wounded in the Normandy landings but went on to serve with the combat engineer battalion of the First Infantry Division. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1949 with an architecture degree and top awards for design.



Lou's accomplishments and contributions to the Philadelphia and Delaware County area were many. As an architect and partner of Philadelphia's Ballinger Company (with first his father, Carl de Moll and later with his brother, John de Moll, both of Swarthmore), he designed hundreds of buildings in the area and around the world, including hospitals, corporate offices, research facilities and instructional buildings for various universities. He was particularly proud of his ability to combine aesthetics with functionality for buildings large and small. Among his favorite commissions were the former US embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, the McNeil Building at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Unisys corporate headquarters in Bluebell, PA. Design awards include the IBM office building in Dayton, New Jersey; a research laboratory at Cornell University; the Master Plan for the Penns Landing Waterfront in Philadelphia; the Ocean City, New Jersey Tabernacle, and his own home, built in stages over 20 years -- much beloved by family and recognized as a landmark by the Rose Valley community.



Lou retired from the Ballinger Company in 1986 as Chief Executive Officer.



Lou is the only American ever to be elected president of the international society of architects, the UIA, headquartered in Paris. He held that post from 1978 to 1981. His effort during his tenure was to help architects of developing nations improve their abilities and broaden their role in their own countries. It was one of his proudest acheivements and richest experiences, taking him and Carol to every corner of the world, and making for them both friendships that have lasted a lifetime.



He was president and a Fellow of the national American Institute of Architects and earlier served as President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He was also an Honorary Fellow of the architectural societies of Hungary, Bulgaria, Spain, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Venezuela, Uruguay, Bolivia and the Pan American Federation. For his services to the profession he was awarded the John Harbeson and Thomas U. Walter Awards by the Philadelphia AIA Chapter.



Lou was a proud member of the Carpenters Company in Philadelphia and his painting of Carpenters' Hall has been used for years as a fundraiser and thank you gift by the company. He was a member of the board of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the board of the Delaware County Citizen's Council, a member of the Philadelphia Bicentennial Site Task Force and the Philadelphia Convention Center Site Selection Committee. He was also officer of the Philadelphia Watercolor Society for many years and president of the board at the School in Rose Valley.



A painter and sculptor all his life, Lou's art focused primarily on the Philadelphia area and the Maine coastline which he loved. His paintings have been exhibited in shows and galleries in Washington DC, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota, Oregon, and Maine. Awards include the Second John Geizel Award, and the Grumbacher Gold Medal, both at the Philadelphia Sketch Club; and the Crescent Medal of the Philadelphia Watercolor Society.



A recent award from the Atheneum of Philadelphia recognized Lou for his life's work and contribution to the city of Philadelphia.



Grumps is already sorely missed by his family but will remain our beacon and our center throughout our lives.



In lieu of flowers, we welcome contributions to the School in Rose Valley or Doctors Without Borders in his name.