July 22, 2008
Paul H. Malo, 78, of the Town of Granby, Oswego County, died quietly at home among loving family members and beloved friends after a battle of more than a year with pancreatic cancer. He was predeceased by his parents, Harold Malo and Lillian Horton Malo, of Syracuse.
This beloved husband, father, and friend of so many was born in Syracuse on June 8, 1930. Paul Malo is fondly recalled as an extraordinarily thoughtful and remarkably gifted, creative, and committed person. From his earliest years, he loved architecture, design, historic preservation, and history. Throughout his life, these were his passions, and they became both his vocation and his avocation. In all these fields, he served as an extraordinary scholar, writer, teacher, and consultant, giving generously of his time and talent. He is also remembered as an avid photographer, painter, cook, musician, gardener as well as beloved husband, father, brother, uncle, and friend,
He attended LeMoyne College when he it first opened in 1947. In 1950, he transferred to the School of Architecture at Syracuse University, where he graduated in 1956. After a year-and-a-half in the military, he returned to Syracuse to work first
with the architectural firm of Sargent, Webster, Crenshaw and Folley and then as partner in the firm of McAfee and Malo. He designed many residences and public buildings in Central New York, including the Onondaga County Civic Center, the First Trust Bank building (now demolished) at the corner of Warren and Adams Streets in Syracuse, and the Hansen house in Cazenovia. For more than thirty years, until his retirement as professor emeritus in 1992, he taught architectural design and history in the Syracuse University of Architecture. He also served briefly as associate dean.
Beginning with attempts to preserve James Street in the early 1950’s Paul Malo was at the forefront of the movement for historic preservation in New York State. As a boy, he spent summers in the Thousand Islands, and he decided from as early age that he wanted to study and interpret that region. He also specialized in architecture in central New York and the Great Camps of the Adirondacks. A former president and trustee of the Preservation League of New York State, he authored many articles and books, including Architecture Worth Saving in Onondaga County (with Harley McKee, and Pat Earle, 1964), Landmarks of Rochester and Monroe County (1974), Santanoni: From Japanese Temple to Life at Adirondack Great Camp (with Robert Engel and Howard Kirshenbaum, 2000), Boldt Castle: In Search of the Lost Story (2001), Fool’s Paradise: Remembering the Thousand Islands (2003), and Floating World: More People, Places, and Pastimes of the Thousand Islands (2004). At the time of his death, he was working as consultant for Thousand Island Park, and he was writing and editing an online magazine, HYPERLINK “http://www.thousandislandslife.com” www.thousandislandslife.com. He won awards for his work, including the Pillar of New York award and an Excellence in Historic Preservation award from the Preservation League of New York State. As a pianist and composer, he created twenty-four etudes for the piano and an unfinished musical about the Thousand Islands.
His lifetime generosity in sharing ideas and talents is legendary. He was greatly blessed with many life-long friends and loving family members, all of whom have benefited from his love and grace. Surviving family include his wife Judith Wellman, his children Mark Malo-Wellman and Amaliya Malo-Wellman, his sister and brother-in-law Annette and Dante Fuligni, his niece Elsie Thomas, and his nephews Paul Fuligni, Andrew Fuligni, and Matthew Fuligni.
A memorial service will be held October 11, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. in the Noble Room, at Hendricks Chapel, Syracuse University. Contributions in his honor will be greatly received by the Antique Boat Museum, 750 Mary Street, Clayton, NY 13624; Adirondack Architectural Heritage, 1790 Main Street, Civic Center, Suite 37, Keeseville, NY 12944; the Preservation Association of Central New York, 930 James Street, Syracuse, NY 13203; the Landmark Society of Western NY 133 South Fitzhugh St., Rochester, NY 14608, or the Preservation League of New York State, 44 Central Avenue, Albany, NY 12206.
“He who binds himself to joy
Doth the winged life destroy.
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sunrise”
William Blake
“The butterfly counts not months but moments and has time enough.”
Rabindranath Tagore
“Death is not extinguishing the Light. It is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.”
Rabindranath Tagore
Mr. Malo arrangements are in the care of the Sugar Funeral Home Inc. 224 West Second St. S. Fulton.