Cecil C. Brumley

Cecil C. Brumley, age 91, of Louisville, passed away Saturday, April 29, 2017. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky on October 7th, 1925. While attending Male High School, he participated in the ROTC Air Force Cadet Program, and flew air-sea rescue missions until he was discharge in 1945. Cecil studied at the University of Michigan on the G.I. Bill, graduating in 1950 with a BA in Architecture. He and Barbara Bradfield were married on August 20, 1949, and were blessed with two daughters.
After graduation, Cecil and his wife moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he worked for three firms: Scott & Beecher Architects, Aston, Evan & Glazier Architects, and Lowell Parrish Architect. In 1952, they moved to Detroit, where he worked for Eliel Saarinen & Robert Swanson Architects, and Giffels & Valet Architects. In 1954, he was offered a job with Reynolds Aluminum Company's Architectural Products Division, and designed aluminum curtain walls for high rise buildings in Louisville, New York City, Chicago and Detroit until the company closed their High Rise Curtain Wall Design Program. Then Cecil worked with PPG in Pittsburgh as Architect for their Architectural Curtain Wall Design Program unit the program was closed in 1963.

Cecil returned to his native Kentucky and worked for US Steel Homes in New Albany, Indiana as the in-house Architect and Head Engineer designing pre-fabricated houses, apartment buildings, nursing homes, office buildings, schools and shopping centers, until the operations were closed in 1968. In order to complete projects with several US Steel Home dealers, he started C.C. Brumley – Architect, with the first office in Middletown, Kentucky.

Cecil later became developer John W. Waits' in-house Architect, designing and building shopping centers for 2 years, until Waits' business failed. In 1972, C.C. Brumley Architects moved its offices to the Hurstbourne Place Office Building, and then again in 1979 to Bluegrass Parkway in Jeffersontown, Kentucky. In 1984, C.C. Brumley, Inc., was incorporated and then sold 13 years later to five-year employee Architect, Scott E. Kremer, who created and became president of Studio Kremer Architects, Inc. In 2005, the offices moved to 3258 Ruckriegel Parkway in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, where they are today. Cecil worked part-time as Contract Architect for Studio Kremer Architects.

Over the course of his career, Cecil had worked on many types of projects, including: aluminum curtain walls for high rise buildings, pre-fabricated houses, apartment buildings, nursing homes, office buildings, schools, shopping centers, malls, TVA projects, dormitories, condominiums, high rise apartments, restaurants, multi-family apartments, automobile dealerships and building restorations. He also worked as a Housing Inspector, inspecting nearly 2000 homes. In order to expand his firm's range of operations, Cecil bought and flew his own airplane. Other business ventures included forming a partnership, Brumley/Saylor, Inc., with Bruce Saylor in 1974; becoming an airplane dealer; and, in a partnership with Joe Barbatti and Ted Wells, designing, constructing and running Papa John 's restaurants in Mississippi.

Cecil was retained by Roger Davis and Gil Whittenberg in 1973 as the Architect for the redesign and finish of 1400 Willow Condominiums after it fell into bankruptcy. He was also retained in 1978 by Davis and Whittenberg as Architect to restore the historic Seelbach Hotel to its once-prominent status. Both are now landmarks in the history of Louisville and are flourishing testaments to the contribution Cecil provided.

Cecil was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara; and his parents, Carroll D. and Kathleen Ann Rawlinson Brumley.

Cecil is survived by his loving daughters, Kathy Sobe (Gordon) and Kim Mahlbacher (Mike); grandchildren, Michael Mahlbacher, Jr. (Erika), David Mahlbacher (April) and Grace Mahlbacher; sister-in-law, Caroline Phillips; niece, Lauren Parks; and a host of relatives and friends.

A celebration of Cecil's life will be in the form of a gathering on Friday, May 12, 2017 from 6-9pm at Iron Bell Ministries,16006 Aiken Road, Louisville, KY. 40245. Military honors will be at 7pm.

Expressions of sympathy may take form of contributions to Iron Bell Ministries, P.O. Box 436405, 16006 Aiken Road, Louisville, KY. 40245., www.ironbellministries.org.

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