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William Hirsch 1919-2012

Bill Hirsch
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William Hirsch of Breckenridge, CO passed away May 9, 2012 in his home with many of his immediate family present.

Bill was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1919 to parents Max and Sophie Brook Hirsch. Bill attended Georgia Tech and earned a dual bachelor of science and bachelor of architecture degrees in 1942. Upon graduation, Bill was commissioned into the US Navy and served four years in World War II in the Pacific Arena. Bill was honorably discharged and spent the following year studying art and architecture in Paris and Fontainebleau, France. Bill returned to the United States to practice architecture in Georgia and New York for several years before moving to Los Angeles in 1949. Bill founded his own firm, William Hirsch, AIA, Architects and Associates. Over 40 years the scope of Bill’s practice included government and civic projects, multi-family housing and ski resorts. Bill enjoyed a side-line career as a voice-impressionist in the entertainment capital of the world and released an album “The Family in the White House” with an uncanny impersonation of President John F. Kennedy.

William and Sara Row Hirsch were married on June 5, 1981 and raised her three children: Jonathon, Stephanie and Christopher Row in their Benedict Canyon home in Beverly Hills, CA.



Bill was an avid handball player at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, LA Dodger fan and later Colorado Rockies fan, member of the Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church, served on the executive committee of the Boy Scouts of America, and the Los Angeles Park Mile Design Review Board. Bill’s love of skiing led him to select the town of Breckenridge as home upon retiring in 1995.

In Breckenridge, Bill was a member of Father Dyer Church, ushered for the Breckenridge Music Festival and skied until he was 86.



Bill is survived by Sara, his loving wife of 30 years; children Jonathon (Aya) Row of Los Angeles, Stephanie (Brian) Smith of Breckenridge, and Christopher (Michele) Row of Los Angeles; and five grandchildren: Sage and Connor Smith, and Wyatt, Alyssa and Jayden Row.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Theodore Hirsch, survived by wife Gloria Hirsch of Vero Beach, FL.

Services of interment will be held Friday May 18 at 12:15 p.m. at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver. A Celebration of Life will follow at 4 p.m. at Father Dyer Church in Breckenridge. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Bill’s honor to Father Dyer Church, the Breckenridge Music Festival or the Summit Foundation.


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