Felix A. Lorenz (1892-1984), Contractor and Architect
Felix A. Lorenz was born Battle Creek, Michigan on May 5, 1892 to (Volga) Russian-born Fredrick Lorenz and his wife Dorothea (nee Heiness).[1][2] His parents were involved in the original creation of Union College and College View, Nebraska in the early 1890s. The family lived in New York State in 1900 and in Oklahoma in 1910 before returning to Lincoln in the 1910s, where Felix attended Union College and his sister Dorothea worked as a nurse at Nebraska Sanitarium on the college campus.[3][4] On his draft registration form in 1917-18, Felix identified himself as a theological student at Union College and claimed a draft exemption as a Seventh-Day Adventist.[5] Felix and Amanda Olga Lorenz married around 1922 and had two sons, Felix Jr. (born in Kansas, c. 1922) and Everett (born in Nebraska, c. 1924). In Lincoln Felix worked for his younger brother Henry's real estate and construction firm (H. P. Lorenz Co.) and both were producing single-family homes in Lincoln by the mid-1920s, apparently working both jointly and separately.[6][7] Henry relocated to Colorado in 1927; Felix continued house-building in Lincoln through about 1940.[8]
Felix Lorenz's close connection to Adventist education was lifelong. After WWII, he and Amanda worked in Adventist colleges or academies. In 1950 they were in Takoma Park, Maryland; by 1959 they were both teaching and she was also in charge of the cafeteria at an academy in Madison, Tennessee, and then at the Madison Sanitarium.[9}[10] Mrs. Lorenz was a dietitian at a Virginia hospital when she died in 1962 at age 64.[11] Felix remarried Lauretta in 1964 in Baltimore. They moved to California in 1968 where he taught at Sacramento Academy. Felix Lorenz died in California in 1984 at age 92.[1]
This page is a contribution to the publication, Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. See the format and contents page for more information on the compilation and page organization.
Contents
Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings
Lincoln, Nebraska, 1914, 1922-1940
Educational & Professional Associations
1910s: attended and graduated from Union College, College View (now Lincoln), Nebraska.[1]
Attended seminary at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.[1]
1945-1946: "Adventist architect and builder," Rolla, Missouri.[12][13]
Other Associations
1950s, head of religion department, Madison (Tennessee) College.[10]
1968, taught religion at Union Academy, Sacramento, California.[1]
Buildings & Projects
Notes
a. The
References
1. "Elder Felix A. Lorenz" (obituary), Napa Valley Register (Deer Park, California) (May 18, 1984), 2.
2. "Memorial Services" (obituary of Fredrick A. Lorenz (1862-1926), Lincoln (Nebraska) State Journal (February 7, 1926), 9.
3. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census, s.v. “Phelix Larenz,” [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
4. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census, s.v. “Felix Lorenz,” [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
5. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, s.v. “Felix Lorenz,” [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
6. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census, s.v. “Felix Lorenz,” [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
7. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census, s.v. “Felix A. Lorenz,” [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
8. "College View Notes," Lincoln (Nebraska) Star (October 23, 1927), 26.
9. Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census," s.v. “Felix A. Lorenz,” [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2022.
10. “Here and There on the Hill...A visitor in Angwin this week was Mrs. Felix Lorenz of Madison, Tennessee...,” St. Helena (California) Star (August 20, 1959), 6.
11. Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014, s.v. “Felix A. Lorenz,” [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
12. "Defense of Home-Building Industry" (lengthy letter to editor), St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Dispatch (June 9, 1945), 4.
13. "Adventists Buy College Ave. Church Building," The Democrat-News (Fredericksville, Missouri) (September 27, 1945), 1.
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Page Citation
E. F. Zimmer and D. Murphy, “Felix A. Lorenz (1892-1984), Contractor and Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, December 1, 2023. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, May 16, 2024.
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