Edhat Reader
David Lee VanHoy passed away on September 5, 2024 in Orange County from complications with Alzheimer’s disease. He was born on December 27, 1953 in Marion, Indiana to Charles (Charlie) Edward and Isabelle Pauline VanHoy. He was the youngest of three boys.
David’s early years were spent in Marion, Indiana and Orange County, California. He graduated in SCI-Arc’s first class (Southern California Institute of Architecture) in Santa Monica and then partnered with fellow student George Elian in Projects Design, a Santa Monica firm that George still runs today.
It was in Los Angeles that David met Karen Essex, “my little red head” as he fondly called her. They married in 1984 and headed for Santa Barbara to reside and raise their family. Although he left Project Design for his move to Santa Barbara, his collaboration and friendship with George continued for many years.
In Santa Barbara, David practiced architecture at several local firms including former Warner and Gray Architects Design Arc, and former Lenny, Yates and VanHoy where he oversaw a large design team. He eventually went out on his own, forming David VanHoy Architecture Inc.
David believed in “community” and was a long-time resident of the Mesa with his wife Karen and their two daughters. His designs carefully capitalized on his client’s location and attributes while being sensitive to impacts to neighbors and the broader community. He was one of the founding members of the Mesa Architects, a volunteer group of design professionals who organized in 2007 to assess the Mesa and create a vision for its future.
Along with his love for his profession, David had a love for his 2002 Nissan 350 Z with its’ “GOOD2ZU” license plate. He took it racing a few times, always thrilled with the prospect, until one day at an event at Earl Warren Showgrounds he inadvertently ran it into a pine tree, a slight misjudgment on his part. No harm done but for his pride and his cherished Z.
In 2011, he moved with his wife to Santa Ynez where there was more room for Karen to run an agility business with their large family of dogs, but he continued his work in Santa Barbara.
David was preceded in death by his parents and his middle brother, Bob. He leaves his wife, Karen Essex VanHoy, his brother Larry (Donna) and his daughters Whitney Cortez (Mike) and their children and Bristol Ringold (Stewart) and their two Great Danes.
To those of us who were fortunate enough to know David, he was witty, talented and very well-respected in the design community. Rest in peace, David.
In David’s honor, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association California Central Coast Chapter in Santa Barbara. Website: alz.org/cacentralcoast.
