“If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing.”

Benjamin Franklin

Legacy apparently wasn’t one of Chris Risher Jr.’s big concerns. In keeping with his wishes, his recent death was barely noticed except for those who knew him well or were keenly interested in his work.

Risher didn’t grow up in Noxubee County, but had close ties here because of his mother’s family. He was grown when his parents divorced, and his mother, the late Christine Chancellor Risher, left Meridian and moved back to her hometown of Macon to care for her father, the late Ed Chancellor. She took a job as a home economics teacher with the Noxubee School District and lived a quiet life in retirement.

The son made frequent trips to Macon during the 50-plus years his mother lived in the cottage-style house at the intersection of Eighth and Washington streets. He found joy, especially later in life, in dishes like squash casserole that he prepared from her Noxubee recipes.

Risher, who died at his Jackson home April 7, left a legacy whether he wanted to or not. Scattered across Mississippi and other states are testaments to his unique style as one of the state’s most prominent architects. He followed his father, Chris Risher Sr., and earned his architecture degree at Auburn University and returned to his hometown of Meridian to work with his father for several years.

Risher Jr. was 77 at the time of his death and had been retired since 2011. During his career he designed hundreds of residential and commercial buildings, both new construction and renovations, following the modernistic style he inherited from his father. Like his father, his was a unique perspective, creating lasting designs that still earn praise today. The former Mercedes dealership facility that he designed in Meridian in the 1980s stands as a work of art – a mix of corrugated metal wrapped around a huge frame with steep roof lines, with windows in all the most unexpected places. Huge and striking, but far from pretentious. Apparently, he and his father both hated buildings that were too showy. The simple steel rod post supporting the entrance corner of Bancorp South in Louisville is a focal point in Winston County.

Jennifer Baughn, chief architectural historian at the Mississippi Department of Archives, recalls an interview she had with Risher in 2012 where they discussed his father’s work. She said he told her his father had a “disdain for pretense.” It was a philosophy also followed by Chris Jr. No columned mansions for these designers. Risher Sr., a Meridian native, died in 1999 and is considered one of Mississippi’s leading modern architects. Meridian is home to most of his work – commercial and residential gems that dot the Queen City’s downtown, I-20 corridor, and subdivisions.

Baughn, in agreement from Chris Risher Jr.’s son, Vaughan, arrived at Risher’s home a few days after his death, accompanied by a team of archivists from the Department of Archives and History. They removed dozen of boxes and files of both Risher Sr. and Risher Jr. that included correspondence, drawings, and accompanying notes dating back to the early 1940s. Baughn says the materials will be stored at the Department of Archives and History for safe keeping until Vaughn makes the decision about what to do with them. She says she’s eager to explore the Risher papers, not only for the historical significance but to also learn more about their work and the large number of buildings and residences they designed.

“Their body of work spanned the last 60 years of the 20th Century starting with Chris Risher Sr. when he returned from architecture school at Auburn to set up his own practice in the early 1940s,” said Baughn. “Chris Sr. brought a sophisticated modernism to his hometown, but he didn’t force his viewpoint on his clients, and his hometown embraced his talent, allowing him to sprinkle Meridian with such diverse gems as the Moderne Vise Building (1947), the charming Bavarian-style Weidmann’s renovation, the Googie-style Travel Inn in the 1950s, and his Modernist masterworks of the 1960s: Hope Village, Temple Beth Israel, and Crestwood Elementary School.”

Baughn, who has done considerable research on both Rishers, said Chris Jr. practiced with his father from the mid- 1960s through the early 1980s. She said they combined their talents on numerous projects, including the Meridian Police Department and the Medical Arts Surgical Group building that Baughn says “illustrate their shared attention to scale, proportion, color, detail, and function.” Baughn said both Rishers have a national reputation.

The window into Chris Risher Jr.’s world has the shades closed tight, but if you ask enough of his friends and colleagues, you can unveil the man’s talent and his tremendous work ethic from an admiring group of fans. There’s that one-word description that comes from most everyone who knew him – “genius.”

Extremely private, he shied away from publicity. Photographs of him – especially ones that include him with his projects – are practically non-existent. He refused most awards that were offered.

In the late 1970s, Dan Bennett convinced Chris to join the faculty at the new Mississippi State University School of Architecture and Design. He helped Bennett launch the “Fifth Year Program” under the Architecture School that’s based in Jackson – the reason he wound up settling in Jackson. Bennett, Dean Emeritus at the Auburn University School of Architecture, recalls his association with Risher and how demanding he was of his students. “For those students who pushed themselves intellectually, he was a life-changing teacher,” said Bennett. “He didn’t suffer fools and he knew how to engage the students, forcing them to explore the philosophical reasons for their designs.”

Bennett says he and Risher remained friends and colleagues for many years, and in fact he was able to convince Risher to join him later at other schools, including a stint at the University of Arkansas. “He was the most incredibly kind and thoughtful person.”

Bennett says he often remembers Risher’s demand for authenticity from his students. “He always stressed sense of place, but demanded authentic thinking in developing an architecture of place,” Bennett said.

Risher devoted most of his time from the late 70s until about 10 years ago to teaching, not only at Mississippi State, but also visiting professorships at such noted places as Berkeley and Harvard’s Graduate School of Design where he held the prestigious Eliot Noyes Distinguished Chair.

Jassen Callender, director of the MSU Fifth Year Program, remembers Chris as a “larger than life intellect” who was “always here challenging his students and providing feedback.”

Bay Springs businessman Jody Fail was a client and recalls how much he enjoyed his work with Risher Jr. on several commercial and residential projects. In the late 1970s Risher designed a renovation and additions to an existing home that remains Fail’s residence today. “He was really special and was quick to come up with unusual design elements. Everything about our house is unique and it still intrigues visitors today after all these years,” he said. Fail says Chris didn’t limit his design abilities to structures. “I have a desk in my Jackson of office that he designed that is really incredible.”

“He was really special and was quick to come up with unusual design elements. Everything about our house is unique and it still intrigues visitors today after all these years,” he said. Fail says Chris didn’t limit his design abilities to structures. “I have a desk in my Jackson of office that he designed that is really incredible.”

Johnny Anderson was the contractor on several of the Fail projects at Bay Springs. He has only praise for Risher. “He was an incredible architect, but in many ways more of an artist that an architect,” said Anderson. “His drawings were so detailed and precise. He would spend a lot of time on-site and help our guys work through any of the complicated design elements. He was a real pleasure to work with.”

“He was an incredible architect, but in many ways more of an artist that an architect,” said Anderson. “His drawings were so detailed and precise. He would spend a lot of time on-site and help our guys work through any of the complicated design elements. He was a real pleasure to work with.”

Vaughan Risher is still shaken by his father’s untimely death. He traveled from his home on the West Coast after receiving the phone call. Chris Jr. and Vaughan’s mother, Catherine, divorced when he was a young child and she moved with her son to Colorado. Father and son had become closer throughout the years and had a mutual admiration for each other’s work. Vaughan, 38, lives and works in Long Beach, Calif. He studied film in college, but now concentrates on graphic design, photography, art and music advocacy.

Vaughan spent a week in Jackson in April to sort through things and make arrangements. According to his father’s wishes, there was no funeral service. No published obituary.

“I knew he had some health issues, and I was concerned about him, but certainly didn’t think it was anything that serious.”

Vaughan is still trying to fill in the blanks, not only from the past 38 years, but now as he works to preserve his father’s life work. “I definitely think my father needs to be recognized, but at this point I’m not sure what my next step will be. I’m grateful to the Department of Archives and History for their interest.”

Vaughan said his father’s recent years, primarily since of officially retiring, have been consumed with painting.

“My father has always had an interest in art, particularly painting, and he devoted his retirement years to producing abstract paintings,” he said. “His house is full of them, including some that are seven feet by nine feet in size. They are all incredible works of art.”

He adds that his father was a prolific letter writer.

“There are going to be friends and acquaintances of his all over the country who will have little drawings and watercolors that he included in notes he would write,” said Vaughan. “I had two letters from him waiting for me when I returned to California.

Most of Risher’s friends and colleagues say he retreated to an even more private life after his retirement and most of them have heard little from him in recent years. Dan Bennett said his last correspondence from Risher came about 10 years ago when his mother died. “I received the nicest note from Risher expressing sympathy. He included a beautiful watercolor. It’s framed and hanging in our living room today.”

Scott Boyd is publisher of The Macon Beacon. This report appeared in The Beacon on May 11.