Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Architect helped design Davie church
Architect Sam Engel had a profound love for his family and his profession prior to his death April 12 due to complications from a stroke, his son Mark Engel said Monday.
A charter member and past president of the Rotary Club of Davie-Cooper City, Solomon “Sam” Engel Jr., of Fort Lauderdale, was 82.
Born in Homestead into a farming family, Engel had eight siblings. He was educated at the University of Florida, was a member of the American Institute of Architects and created buildings in more than one style, his son said.
The Fort Lauderdale home Engel designed for his wife Carolyn and their children Mark and Susan is mid-century modern.
For Saint David Catholic Church in Davie, he was the final architect and worked closely with the late Father Gabriel O’Reilly during construction, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Miami said.
Engel traveled to many countries for charity work with the Rotary Club and to attend conventions, his son said. He was also passionate about telling jokes and was always prepared to share one on any topic.
“I didn’t get that gene from him, remembering jokes,” said Mark Engel. He is also an architect who works in the family firm, Engel and Associates Inc., in Davie, where his father still went into the office several days each week.
“Everybody knew he always had a joke,” Mark Engel said. “He’d go before a site planner or town council and before he presented, they always asked for his joke of the day. He was a serious person, but always able to make light of anything.”
Engel was also a devoted fan of fast cars and while in college, began attending races on the sand in Daytona Beach, his son said.
“He only missed two races: The first year they moved to the track, which he thought would be boring, and then another time when he was getting ready to go, but broke his arm,” Mark Engel said.
In 2013, Daytona International Speedway honored Engel as one of 24 “fans of steel” when the track debuted a new front stretch. He also rode in a car for several laps around the track.
In addition to his wife and adult children, Engel is survived by two grandchildren, two siblings and other relatives.
On Saturday, a visitation is scheduled at 11 a.m. followed by a memorial service at noon at Davie United Methodist Church at 6500 SW 47th St. in Davie. The services are open to the public.
The family asks that instead of flowers, donations be made in Engel’s name to the Davie-Cooper City Rotary Club Foundation.