Dale Fahnstrom, faculty member at Illinois Tech Institute of Design from 1966 to 2011, faculty emeritus, and director of ID from 1982-1986, died peacefully August 12 after a long illness. Many at ID have fond memories of Dale, not only as an inimitable design leader, but also as a committed, vibrant mentor, friend, and human being.

Dale’s family will not hold a public funeral, but they are planning a memorial on campus this fall to remember and honor him as the amazing person and designer he was. Those who wish to honor Dale’s memory are invited to:

• Share anecdotes, personal tributes, or comments with Dale’s family through Connie White, Dale’s wife, who will forward them to family members: constancedwhite@gmail.com
• Contribute memories to a book for Dale’s family by sending them directly to Raina Russ, raina@id.iit.com (or cc Raina on your note to Connie, above).
• Make charitable contributions in Dale’s honor on the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation donation page.

In a classic example of Dale’s contribution to design and ID, as well as his wise approach to design and to life, here he is talking about “designing thinkering spaces” at ID’s strategy conference a few years ago.