Nathan Kagan, 78, retired architect

Nathan Kagan, 78, of Penn Valley, a retired architect, died from complications of Parkinson's disease Tuesday, May 10, at Saunders House in Wynnewood.

Mr. Kagan ended his career as chief architect for Amtrak, representing the railroad's interests in the design of the Cira Centre, a 29-story skyscraper built in 2004 over tracks next to 30th Street Station.

After emigrating from South Africa to Philadelphia in 1978, Mr. Kagan worked for a number of architectural firms and developers. He was involved with numerous design projects, including work for the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University Hospital, Doylestown Hospital, Penn Station in New York, Boston's South Station, and Bryn Mawr College. He designed the YMCA in Burlington County, the Hamilton Park Conference Center in Hamilton, N.J., and an office park in Marlton.

Mr. Kagan was born in Lithuania in 1933. He and his parents and sister escaped Eastern Europe just before the outbreak of World War II. They eventually settled in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, where he graduated from the Milton School.

He earned a bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Cape Town, graduating summa cum laude.

After earning a master's degree in architecture from Yale University in 1958, where he studied with Louis I. Kahn, he returned to Africa and designed the Bulawayo railroad station in Rhodesia.

In the early 1960s, Mr. Kagan moved to Johannesburg, South Africa, where for more than a decade, he designed and supervised designs for shopping centers and office buildings for Anglo American Corp.

Since 1964, he had been married to Sandra Minde Kagan. They were introduced by mutual friends in Johannesburg.

Mr. Kagan and his wife enjoyed bridge and tennis and vacations in Bermuda and London.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Janice; a son, Laurence; his sister; and three grandchildren.

A funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 12, at Har Zion Temple, 1500 Hagys Ford Rd., Penn Valley.

Donations may be made to the Nathan Kagan Scholarship Fund, Yale University School of Architecture, Att.: Monica Robinson, Box 2038, New Haven, Conn. 06521.