It is with great sadness that I inform our readers of the passing of our beloved and supremely talented Homework columnist, Paul Doerner. His death was sudden and unexpected, leaving all who had the good fortune to experience his generous nature, design genius and trademark wit feeling the void that has been left by his passing. Paul has been a part of Town&Style since our inception in 2011. He penned more than 200 columns—doling out his wisdom and meticulously drawing and coloring each rendering by hand for our readers’ benefit.
Paul was born and raised in St. Louis and lived his life in service of elevating our native architecture. In Paul’s mind, there was almost no structure that was not salvageable if just given some love. Before your eyes in mere minutes, he could magically bring his transformations to life using the signature red marker and transparent paper that he always kept in his briefcase. When creating a new home, Paul worked to respect the neighborhood and made sure the new abode felt as if it had been there all along. The end product was always nothing short of remarkable.
Paul attended Lindbergh High School and received his architecture degree from the University of Kansas. When he returned to St. Louis, he had the great fortune to work with the late William Bernoudi, amongst others. Only four years after graduating, he invited four of his classmates and fellow St. Louisans to join him in creating The Lawrence Group, named after their alma mater. The firm enjoyed wild success, becoming an industry leader both locally and nationally. Paul recently retired from The Lawrence Group after nearly 40 years, but he continued to practice, pursuing his personal passion for single family residential architecture as well as penning his column.
Paul truly loved being able to reach the St. Louis community through Homework. Even if a homeowner didn’t share what neighborhood a home was located in, he could usually tell based on the style of the property. Occasionally, he would drive by later to see if his advice had been taken. “Sometimes people have made changes I didn’t suggest, and other times, they have taken my recommendations and made them even better,” he said in a profile T&S ran in 2019. “I may notice that homeowners have made their home look more Tudor than I proposed, but it really works. I think the column is a catalyst for other people’s creativity as well as my own.”
Whether you are a diehard Homework fan or have never read it before, take a minute to review Paul’s recreations from the past 12 years of writing the column. I know you will agree that we can all learn something from his work.
