Born in Dallas on March 16, 1945, Larry was the first-born of six brothers. He worked his way through high school playing guitar in bands in numerous venues, including Six Flags, and graduated at the top of his class at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas in 1963. He attended the University of Texas in Austin, where he continued to pursue his love of music to support a young family and his education in Architectural Engineering. He received a B.S. degree in 1967 and a M.S. degree in 1968, again, at the top of his class. After spending several years with DATUM Engineers, Larry formed L.A. Fuess Partners in 1979. Since forming, the company designed more than 700 buildings with a construction value of more than $7 billion.

From engineering the largest cantilevered aircraft hangar in the world to the Mansion Residences on Turtle Creek, to myriad regional malls across the country, and retrofitting 80 – 85% of the downtown Dallas buildings preserved for adaptive reuse, Larry and his partners frequently out-competed larger multi-disciplined firms with multiple offices. Larry’s final project was the First United Methodist Church in Richardson. He and the firm were recipients of numerous Awards of Excellence from a variety of industry organizations, and Larry was a founding member of the Structural Engineering Association of Texas. He continued his love for music by becoming an accomplished flamenco guitarist, studying with the legendary Phil Leslie.

Larry achieved mastery of classical and flamenco guitar, which brought music and joy to his friends and family. Larry had many great and admirable qualities, as demonstrated by the courage he showed in his last days. When he was diagnosed with cancer, and he knew he had little time left, he went about putting things in order for those he would leave behind. He spent time with each of his colleagues in the office, sharing the knowledge he could and preparing everyone for life without him. L.A. Fuess Partners, was important to him, but more than that, he was concerned about the welfare of each employee.

Larry was a man who could easily command the attention of an entire room. Although he was somewhat shy in some situations, people always listened to what he was saying and the things he said were almost always meaningful and well thought out. He affected people without realizing it himself and had a huge impact on the lives of others. His courage inspired everyone to put their noses to the grindstone and keep the firm moving forward.

The Lawrence A. Fuess Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Architectural Engineering was established by the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System on August 31, 2004, for the benefit of the Cockrell School of Engineering. Gift funds were provided by Larry’s widow, Temple Wynne, his daughter and son-in-law, Aynsley and Gerardo Interiano, his stepson, Michael Angus Hanschen, friends, Jack and Carol Corgan, and Mary Beth Parker, and L. A. Fuess Partners Incorporated of Dallas, Texas. The endowment honors Mr. Lawrence A. Fuess of Dallas, Texas, a 1969 graduate of The University of Texas at Austin Cockrell School of Engineering.