Dear Grandpa, I'm writing this as if it were a letter, and I'm not sure why. It's just coming out that way. I want you to know that I will never forget you. Your 'surprised' look, when a joke was really funny to you. As if you hadn't expected to be caught off guard with such a good one! Your advice to me about what it is men love about women. I will never forget. Or the way you said my name. The time we went to breakfast together in Santa Cruz, just the two of us. You made me want to be an interior designer, too. But I don't have a talent for it, not at all! I just love to admire the work when it's done beautifully.
I feel like I know you better than you knew I did. That doesn't really make sense, but luckily, this is just a blog and it doesn't matter too much how well I'm writing. I can be as sentimental and sloppy as I want. I have been your granddaughter for a long time. I think that means something. When I look at some of your books, and read about colors and light, patterns and shapes, ornaments and design throughout history, I feel I am very close to you. When I watch the old video of you hamming it up, and then I see a smaller version of myself hamming it up right alongside you, I feel lucky to have known you.
There are so many memories.
I want to write so many things, but right now I can't. I'm guessing I'll be coming back here a lot.
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1st attempt: Tribute Video
This is the 1st attempt. I may make another one if people send me more pictures (e.g. if I get more pictures of German with friends; this one is almost entirely family). Also, there is a mistake in this video. There is one picture where the heads got cut off - I have *no* idea why. Otherwise I think it's OK.
More Video Viewing Options... Just in case.
You can also view the video on YouTube.
German's Obituary
German C. Sonntag, architect, interior designer, beloved brother, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, passed away on Sunday, December 9, 2007, in San Diego.
He was born on January 5, 1920, in Buenos Aires, the youngest of three children. His father was an immigrant from Leipzig; his mother was born in Argentina. He was educated at the Buenos Aires Germania Schule. He married Iliana Redlich in 1944, and they had seven children, who were born in Argentina between 1945 and 1958.
German received his degree in Architecture from the University of Buenos Aires in 1950. Licensed both as an architect and an engineer, he was Director of Works (Director de Obras), for the City of Buenos Aires before deciding to emigrate to the United States in 1960, and settle in Los Angeles. Here he worked initially for the architectural firm of Smith, Powell & Morgridge in the city. Thereafter, his interests turned towards design and In-Architektur, and he became the Director of Design for the General Fireproofing Company of Youngstown, Ohio. In 1969 he took on commercial and residential design as an independent, and founded his own firm under the name of Classicus, Inc. In the nineteen seventies, he undertook, under this name, several distinguished projects in Los Angeles. He designed the offices of Boyd Jeffries & Co., in the Union Bank building at Figueroa and Fifth; various offices for the Sullivan Insurance Group; Hotchkiss & Wiley; and Max Factor, Hollywood, among many others.
German taught at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM), first introducing history as a subject in the training of designers, and in 1979 became Chairman of the Interior Design Department. He would frequently lead his students through walks along the streets of downtown Los Angeles, pointing out to them the significant architectural details, the arches, gavottes and architraves of the old office buildings, the now famous Art Deco, Jugendstil and neo-Gothic structures of our downtown city.
His range of talent spanned several areas of design and interior architecture, in addition to commercial interiors, and he designed private residences in Laguna Beach, Santa Monica, Malibu, Glendale, and Pasadena. German was a regular and enthusiastic participant in the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts (PSHA) program throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s. To the end, he refused to abandon his work and his outreach activities. He continued to design well into his eighties. As recently as the year 2004, he won the design challenge contest on the HGTV television show, “Designers’ Challenge.”
German was active in several professional associations, especially the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), serving on the Board from 1968-1990, including several years as First Vice President and Historian of the Los Angeles Chapter. German was also an active member of the International Furnishings Design Association (IFDA), the Institute of Business Designers (IBD), the Society of Architectural Historians, the Decorative Arts Council of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and was an Associate Member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He published several articles in local and national magazines such as Designers West and Interior Design.
Santa Monica became his beloved home in the early 1970s, and he lived there for close to thirty-five years. He was a passionate lover of music, particularly that of the great German classics, and he loved the visual arts with equal fervor. His eye for beauty was as certain as the eagle's on his prey. An avid reader, German collected thousands of books and magazines on a diverse range of topics, which are now placed in various academic and public libraries. He traveled widely in the United States, Europe and Latin America. He was fluent in German and French, as well as his native Spanish. A cosmopolitan and cultured man – indeed, a true romantic – German will be sincerely missed by many.
German Sonntag is survived by his seven children, Albert, Fred, Alec, Iliana, Gabriela Morris (Gary), Mariana Whitmer (George), and Paul; thirteen grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; his sister Gerda Anderson and her family in Argentina; as well as various cousins scattered throughout the old German cities of Leipzig, Bonn, Luebeck, Koeln, and Mainz, with whom he remained in friendly contact throughout his life.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, January 6, 2008 from 2:00-4:00pm at Throop Memorial Church, 300 S. Los Robles, Pasadena.
2 comments:
Felish,
I'm so glad you started this page -- it's a wonderful idea and a very fitting tribute to German! I think he probably touched us all in a very similar way -- with his free spirit, his always-upbeat personality, his generosity, and his humor.
In my next post I'm starting a list of memorable "Germanisms" (for want of a better word.) Spelling is probably not critical, because we've all heard them and we'll know what is meant.
I'll miss him.
I first met German in 1974. I interviewed him to help me develop a floor of the Equitable Building on Wilshire Boulevard. We had an immediate liking for each other and have worked together on several projects since that time. During the past 34 years, my husband, Gary, and I have considered German to be a very good friend. He stayed with us on a regular basis in our home on the beach in Oxnard and in later years - Ojai. The last time we saw him was at the Music Festival here in Ojai when he was our houseguest.
German was without a doubt one of the most delightful, charming, interesting and entertaining people we have ever known. We would sit by the hour and share stores with each other. He was a true gentleman with a definite touch of class. He will be definitely be missed by his friends, Gary and Brenda Farr.
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