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Manfred Willy Gitt
April 20, 1933 - October 28, 2013
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<div itemprop="description">MANFRED GITT, B. ARCH. <br /> <br />Manfred&rsquo;s life ended peacefully at his home on Monday October 28, 2013, with his wife by his side. He is survived by Donna (n&eacute;e Mills) his wife of 58 years, son Rolf (Cassandra), granddaughter Bria Morgan, grandson Connor, brother Joe (Lita) of California and sister Barbara Jurca of Berlin, Germany. <br /> <br />Born in Berlin on April 20, 1933, he received his early education in war-time and post-war Germany. In 1953, his family immigrated to Canada. They settled in Winnipeg where Manfred found employment as a clerk at Eaton&rsquo;s and, later, with Maple Leaf Milling. <br /> <br />Manfred met Donna at his first ever Newcomers&rsquo; Dance and were married September 6th, 1955 in Winnipeg. <br /> <br />He enrolled at the University of Manitoba in 1957, and graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor of Architecture degree. He began his career with Moody, Moore &amp; Partners and Libling Michener &amp; Associates. In 1965, he moved to Toronto with his wife and young son to join Hancock Little Calvert, a subsidiary of Project Planning Associates Ltd., as a project architect, an association that would last for 13 satisfying years. <br /> <br />His professional work ranged from residential, commercial and institutional projects to master planning, programming and project management. Major projects included the design of the Great Hall &amp; Kitchen Complex at the University College in Winnipeg, design studies for the McLaughlin library at the University of Guelph with Jos&eacute; Luis Sert, and the design of the University Centre at Guelph. <br /> <br />In 1968, Manfred moved to Georgetown, Guyana with his wife and son, where, under World Bank auspices, he developed a system of school building components and, during his 18-month stay, designed six secondary schools based on that system. <br /> <br />Manfred developed the campus master plan and schematic design for the new King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This project was moved to England in 1975 where, during his family&rsquo;s three-year stay, Manfred put in place the design and production team and coordinated the input of an international advisory group of academic experts and architects like Pietro Belluschi and Felix Candela. In 1979, he worked in Kaduna, Nigeria for nine months to prepare the master plan and schematic design for the Nigeria Defence Academy <br /> <br />On his return to Toronto, he worked with Daniel Li Architects until, in 1982, he joined the Design Services Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Government Services as a Project Executive. He developed the Space Standards Manual for the Ontario Government and, in 1998, retired as Senior Advisor, Office &amp; Interior Design. <br /> <br />Manfred enjoyed people. He valued good design and he appreciated art, architecture, and sculpture. He took great pleasure in literature, music, film and travel. He loved watching soccer and in his later years was deeply involved in finding his roots through extensive genealogy research. We will miss his insightful contributions to dinner party conversations. We will also miss his positive loving support for everyone in his family as our husband, father, brother, and grandfather. <br /> <br />As Manfred had wished, and planned, his body was donated to the University of Toronto for medical research and anatomical studies. <br /> <br />Family and friends will be received at Pine Hills Cemetery and Visitation Centre, 625 Birchmount Rd, Toronto, on Saturday November 9th, 2013 starting at 2pm. Sharing of memories will begin at 3pm, followed by food and refreshments. <br /> <br />In lieu of flowers, you may wish to consider a donation to the Santa Claus Fund, or a charity of your choice. <br /> <br />A guestbook is available at: www.etouch.ca <br /></div>