Published January 24, 2020
BOSTON — Evan H. Shu, FAIA, 66, was born on March 4, 1953 and died on January 12, 2020.
He was raised in Seattle, Washington. He was the son of Dr. Evan H. Shu, a displaced person from the Communist Revolution in China, and Dr. Ruby Inouye, a Japanese American woman who left the internment camps to finish college and attend medical school during WWII.
Evan attended Franklin High School in Seattle. Upon graduation, he enrolled in Stanford University as a pre-med student and spent much of his time trying to find another major that would not disappoint his father and would allow him to exercise his creative talents. He graduated from Stanford summa cum laude with a degree in architecture.
He moved to Boston to attend Harvard Graduate School of Design and graduated with a master’s degree in architecture. He worked in several architectural firms in the Boston until he formed his own firm, Shu Associates. For several years, he maintained offices in both Boston and California and commuted back and forth. This demonstrates his firmly held belief that “when you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice.”
He was the co-founder of the DataCAD Boston Users’ Group, moderator of the DBUG Internet Forum, co-author of “CADD and the Small Firm,” editor of “Cheap Tricks Newsletter,” and curator of Cheap Tricks Ware. In 2001, he was elected to the prestigious College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects for “help[ing] thousands of architects make Computer Assisted Design a humane, accessible, and appropriate architectural tool and creat[ing] and support[ing] a large global community of architects who share resources.”
He was an active member of Old South Church in Boston for over 25 years. He held the positions of Senior Deacon, Moderator, Chair of the Communications Committee, and most recently, Church Historian. He sang in three choirs at the church: Gospel Choir, Festival Choir and First Service Choir.
He was a Renaissance man who ran the Boston Marathon eight times, played jazz piano and sang gospel music, enjoyed discussing politics and movies, and kept up with the latest in technology.
Despite his accomplishments, his greatest pride and joy was his children, Nathaniel Ross and Amanda Grace. He was a man who thoroughly enjoyed life. For him the glass was not half full or half empty but overflowing with champagne.
He is survived by his wife of 29 years, Annamarie Ross Shu, his children, Nathaniel Ross Shu and Amanda Grace Shu, his sisters, Geraldine Shu of Seattle and Karen Shu Minutoli (Rick Minutoli) of Kent, Wash. and a nephew, Niccolo Minutoli of Kent, Wash. He was predeceased by two children, Melanie Hope Shu and Noah Bernard Evan Shu, his parents and numerous aunts and uncles.
A memorial service will be Saturday, January 25 at 2 p.m. at the Old South Church in Boston, 645 Boylston Street. The church is accessible on the MBTA Orange and Green lines.
In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to Old South Church, Evan Shu Memorial Housing Fund at the above address. To Send a message of condolence please visit www.gatelyfh.com
