Obituary: Paul Edward Sprague, Jr. (1933–2023)

Paul Edward Sprague, Jr., 90, of Milledgeville passed away peacefully on December 12, 2023. He was born February 28,1933 in Cumberland, Maryland to Miriam Drake Sprague and Paul Edward Sprague, Sr. Paul was preceded in death by his sister, Beverly Sprague Rodda and his brother, Donald Sprague. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Susan Karr; his daughters, Sharon Sprague (Michael Samson) of Chicago, Illinois and Wendy Sprague (Martin David) of Fort Collins, Colorado; his sister, Susan Sprague Curry (James) of Brownsville, Vermont; and four grandchildren; Dylan Samson of Los Angeles, California, Cody Samson of San Francisco, California, Alexandre David and Samuel David of Fort Collins, Colorado.

Paul received his undergraduate training at Rutgers University; his graduate work in Art and Architectural History was begun at Oberlin College and completed at Princeton University where he received the PH.D. He served in the United States Air Force as a navigator from 1954-1957.

Paul taught Art and Architectural History at Lake Forest University, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. He also spent a semester as visiting professor at Seijo University in Tokyo, Japan. Paul was appointed Director of the Illinois Historic Structures Survey which documented buildings in every town in Illinois of above 500 in population. His firm, Historic Preservation Services, served many clients in the Midwest. Paul was the author of numerous books and articles on early modern architects and the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School.

A celebration of life took place on Friday, December 29, 2023 at 2:00p.m. with visitation at 1:00 p.m. at Williams Funeral Home and Crematory in Milledgeville, Georgia.

Paul Sprague was a long-time member of SAH, having joined in 1959. He was a speaker at the joint meeting of the Society of Architectural Historians (USA) and the Society of Architectural Historians (Great Britain) held at the University of Cambridge in August 1973 and at the April 1981 annual conference in Victoria, British Columbia. He served on the SAH Board of Directors from 1982 to 1985.