Walter R. Livingston Jr., 89, architect and civic activist

Walter Raleigh Livingston Jr., 89, of University City, an architect and civic activist, died of complications from a stroke Wednesday, June 8, at home.

Mr. Livingston was a practicing architect for more than 55 years, most recently with the Livingston Group in Colwyn. Though he stopped going to the office when he was 86, he never formally retired, his daughter Margaret said. He was a fellow of the American Institute of Architects.

Over the years, his firms were involved in the designs of such notable Philadelphia sites as Zion Baptist Church, Triumph Baptist Church, Edison High School, Progress Plaza, the Clef Club, and the Criminal Justice Center.

In 1995, Mr. Livingston was honored in an exhibit at the African American Museum in Philadelphia with 21 other African American architects, including Julian Abele, chief designer of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the central branch of the Free Library.

Mr. Livingston, who had a bachelor's degree in architecture and a master's degree in urban planning from the University of Pennsylvania, served on the board of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority from 1958 to 1972. While there, he was involved in the completion of Independence Mall and the construction of housing in West Philadelphia.

He served on numerous other boards, including at Berean Federal Savings Bank, the Youth Study Center, Stapeley Hall in Germantown, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and the American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

He was a former chairman of the board of the Philadelphia Tribune and a past president of the Urban League, which presented him with the Whitney M. Young Heritage Award for community involvement in 1994. He received the Silver Beaver and Silver Antelope Awards for his service on the Cradle of Liberty Council, Boy Scouts of America.

Mr. Livingston was a founder and charter member of the University Swim Club. The club opened in 1964 as the first private integrated swim club in the city. He was a member of the Union League of Philadelphia for almost 30 years and was one of the first African Americans to join the private social club.

He was a Mason and a member of the Philadelphia chapter of Rotary International.

Mr. Livingston grew up in North Philadelphia and graduated from Central High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1943 from Cheyney University, where three of his children and his wife later earned degrees.

During World War II, he served in the Army Corps of Engineers in Europe and saw action during the Battle of the Bulge.

After his discharge, he attended Penn on the GI Bill.

On Christmas Day 1951, he met Marjorie V. Cachie. He proposed on New Year's Eve, and they married three months later.

The couple raised six children in West Philadelphia. For more than 30 years, Mr. Livingston was a Democratic committeeman in the 46th Ward. He was committed to his neighborhood and invested in four houses on Locust Street, where he and his wife and three of their children lived, his daughter said. He loved taking family photographs, she said.

In addition to his wife of 60 years and daughter, Mr. Livingston is survived by daughters Mary and Marlene; sons Walter III and Edward; 12 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. A son, Joseph, died in 2009.

The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 15, at the Church of the Holy Apostles and the Mediator, 260 S. 51st St., Philadelphia. Friends may call from 9 a.m. Burial will be in West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd.