A. Jeffrey Skorneck

Upon my arrival in LA from the Midwest in the mid 70's, I was eager to dive into design-related activities in my new community, having recently graduated in architecture. Jeff was one of the first people I met when I joined the AIA Associates, and an active group it was, sponsoring many events for those preparing for their professional licensing exam. There was a cluster of us that met regularly and we would connect in between meetings, often at Jeff's apartment in Venice, a place just off the Strand, and it was a unique beach flat owned by the artist Wanda Westcoast. After several months, there was a call for new leadership of the AIA Associates and while none of us wanted to take on that time-consuming commitment, Jeff and I discussed doing it together, serving as co-presidents. Sure enough, we won the election and, just as we were planning our approach, he was assigned a project in Hawaii. Off he went to relocate there for a year, and I then had to coordinate all the lectures, presentations and activities myself. While I never would have considered taking on the role solo, I found that it presented many opportunities for exploring aspects of design and construction, so I took it on enthusiastically! With regular correspondence by mail (pre-email), I kept Jeff informed and he was always positive about whatever ideas I put forth. When he returned to LA, he'd arrange get-togethers and numerous friends would gather at his place. Even in those days, he was a master salad maker. When he moved to Beachwood Canyon, the events took on a new flavor at his classic, mid-century LA hillside home. As a faithful, and most literate, correspondent, he stayed in touch when my husband Ray and I moved to the East Coast in the mid 80's. We always rendezvoused whenever we visited LA, often for a museum or tour of downtown. He offered to host a lunch or dinner for us to see long-time mutual friends when we were in town. Each visit to his newest and most marvelous home in Nichols Canyon was a treat and sometimes we would cook together there. We stayed with him a couple of times and, one night, over Thanksgiving weekend 2018, as Ray & I were sleeping in the darkened guest room, I felt some water dripping on my cheek. We realized it was falling from the ceiling at an increasing rate, turned on the lights and could see where the rain water was coming in at the outside edge of the ceiling. Ray pulled the bed across the room, while I went to the kitchen to find a large pan to catch the drops. We put a towel on the floor and one in the pan to muffle the sound of the drops and went back to sleep, thinking we'd deal with it the next day. In the morning, as the three of us were making breakfast in the kitchen, we heard a loud crash. We all ran to the guest room and saw that the entire ceiling along the street side of the room had come crashing down. The bed was saved only because we'd moved it in the night. Jeff's first thought was how fortunate it was that the ceiling had not collapsed on us during the night and expressed how grateful he was that we'd taken the action we had! Ray and I were relieved we'd had advance warning and were glad to help him assess the situation, and he then proceeded with weeks of roof and ceiling repairs. A close one! With fond memories for the many long discussions we had, including debates about Mac vs Windows! His many interests and strong convictions were all part of his special nature.