A Moment of Silence

Bill Swain, FASLA (1924-2004)

Bill Swain, FASLA, ASLA national president, 1973-74, and recipient of the ASLA Medal in 1980.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Bill Swain, FASLA, of Monroeville, PA, passed away March 30, 2004 from complications of Parkinson's disease. He was 80. Mr. Swain was national ASLA president, 1973-74, and recipient of the ASLA Medal in 1980.

He was born and raised in the small town of Fort Thomas, Kentucky, within sight of Cincinnati. He studied engineering for two years at the University of Cincinnati, then went to war in Germany as a platoon leader in the 80th Infantry Division of General George Patton's Third Army.

After the war, Mr. Swain entered Carnegie Institute of Technology on the G.I. Bill, receiving a bachelor's degree in architecture in 1952. While still a student and beginning in 1948, he went to work for landscape architect Ralph Griswold, where he learned landscape architecture on the job. Among his first projects was the land-use plan for Point State Park.

After Swain graduated, Griswold asked him to stay to help finish Point State Park. Mr. Swain designed the concrete platforms on Mount Washington and worked for two decades on the design of Point State Park, a national historic landmark.

Mr. Swain was a founding partner of GWSM in 1975, the successor to the partnership Griswold, Winters, Swain and Mullin.

When Griswold retired, Swain oversaw the design of the fountain and other features west of the Portal Bridge. He also designed the marina, boat launch and parking areas at Maurice K. Goddard State Park and the Pittsburgh Riverfront and Hillside Master Plan.

He married Marjorie Page Reno Siebert in December 1957. His wife died in 1994. Mr. Swain is survived by daughters Jill Pack of North Huntingdon and Margaret Petruska, of Monroeville, and one grandson.

A memorial service date was not yet announced. Contributions may be made to the American Parkinson's Disease Association.