Obituary of Kenneth Richard Lange

At 2:40 pm on the afternoon of April 9, 2024, Kenneth Richard Lange AIA passed away at his home in Stamford surrounded by his loving family. He was born the second son of Robert Lange and Anna Blohm Lange of Yonkers, NY on January 21, 1935.

Ken graduated from Roosevelt High School where he was captain of the cross country team and was regarded as one of the more talented artists in his class. He went on to Penn State University with an ROTC scholarship where he had to change his major from commercial art to architecture in order to avoid being drafted and sent to fight in Korea. He was a member of the Sigma Pi fraternity.

Upon graduation, Ken started his active duty career as a Naval Officer. He excelled at all assignments that he was tasked with. While serving as Communications Officer on the USS Tortuga, he was one of the youngest department heads in the fleet. Ken was recognized as an expert ship handler and was often tasked with bringing the ship in and out of port, a job normally reserved for more senior officers. While assigned to the USS Tortuga, Ken deployed to Japan and the Far East numerous times which later influenced his thoughts on architecture and design.

After the Navy, he worked as an architect on the 1964 World’s Fair Vatican exhibit where he helped to design the display of Michelangelo’s Pieta. When the Fair closed he went to live and work in Aalborg, Denmark. His time there was spent in an award winning office where he worked on celebrated projects. Upon his return home, he worked for Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill in New York City. Ken found that he preferred a smaller more intimate office so he joined the architectural firm of Elder and Angell as a partner in Bedford Village, NY. The firm of Elder, Angell, & Lange focused on residential architecture. They designed beautiful homes for Fortune 500 executives and philanthropists like Leon Levy and Shelby White, Jerome Kohlberg, and artists like Robert Motherwell.

Mr. Lange is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Clay Lange, daughters Holly Lange and Robin Clay Lange Fazio, his stepchildren, Silsbee Biddle Philo and Law Biddle, and his grandchildren, Jillian Philo and Will Philo. He was sadly predeceased by his beloved daughter, Amy Katherine Lange         

A memorial service to celebrate the life of Kenneth Lange will be held on April 27 from 11am to 1pm at the Hoyt Funeral Home. 199 Main Street, New Canaan, Connecticut. All are welcome.