Person Page - 539

TAEUSCH Cynthia Searles Taeusch died peacefully on the morning of February 12, 2004 at Glenmoor Health Center in St. Augustine. Born January 31st, 1916 in Detroit, Michigan, Cynthia was married to Frederick Taeusch in Kittery Point, Maine and moved to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida in 1977. Cynthia is survived by her husband of 58 years, Captain Frederick L. Taeusch, United States Navy, Retired, two sons, Carl and John, and her brother, John R. Searles, Jr., and sister, Elizabeth Searles Gibson.²

SEARLES John Rumney Searles, Jr., died peacefully Friday, October 22, 2005, at Vicar's Landing at 93 years of age.
He was dedicated to his wife, Lee, his family and friends. John, a long time city planner, had remarkable social skills and was a gifted facilitator. He could bring people of differing opinions together to insure the success of project. He was committed to civic and government concerns. He was an active churchman and instrumental in the founding of Vicar's Landing and the Memorial Garden at Christ Episcopal Church. He will be remembered as a man of integrity and honesty.
John was born in Detroit, Michigan on October 14, 1912. He received his A.B. degree from Princeton University in 1934 and his M.A. from Wayne State University in 1940. Upon graduation he was on the staff of the Detroit Bureau of Government Research responsible for a number of studies on municipal finance and a major report on the Intelligence Testing of Police Officers. He served five years in the United States Army.
During the war years he met Leota Dell Johnson, "Lee", they married on July 3, 1943. John directed the Washington D.C. Redevelopment Land Agency; during his tenure the Agency undertook projects in our nation's Capital with the aim of eliminating slums; it was pioneering in procedures for urban renewal. Prior to that appointment, he was with the Housing and Home Finance Agency in Washington D.C. (now the Department of Housing and Urban Development - HUD). He and Lee relocated to Syracuse, NY where he accepted the position of Executive Vice President and later, Chief Executive Officer of the Metropolitan Development Association - MDA. The MDA is an association of business and professionals with specific projects to enhance the economy and the quality of life in Syracuse and central New York state.
After retirement, John and Lee relocated to Ponte Vedra, Florida where he continued to be an active and dedicated public servants. John served as the part-time Executive Director of the Jacksonville Beach Redevelopment Agency and was the first Chairman of the Board of Directors at Vicar's Landing. John was always an active volunteer. He was President of the National Association of Housing and Urban Renewal and the Central New York chapter of the American Society for Public Administration; and on the Board of the National Housing Conference. John was a member of the Executive Committee of the Urban Renewal Division of ACTION, later Urban American, the national organization to stimulate urban improvement. He was Chair of the Syracuse-Onondaga County Planning Agency and the Onondaga County Fair Employment Practices Board, which dealt with the improvement of Affirmative Action Programs.
In 1956 Searles received the Rockefeller Public Service Award for distinguished public service which enable him and his family to spend nine months in Europe studying the replanning and rebuilding of European cities which had been damaged during the war. John received the certificate of Merit Award from the District of Columbia in 1961 and the Princeton University Class of 1934 Award from Outstanding Achievement in 1971. He also received awards from the D.C. Civitans and the Washington Central Labor Council. He has lectured at Syracuse, Princeton, Rutgers, American, George Washington, and other universities. He was a consultant on city development to Detroit, Michigan; Bagdad, Iraq; Athens, Greece, Lorain, Ohio; Utica, New York; and other cities. He has written articles on urban development and housing in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Family members include his wife, Lee; daughter Elisabeth Searles and husband, Richard Friedberg; son, John Searles and wife, Meg Oleson; son, James and wife, Cindy Searles; grandchildren, John Friedberg, Emily Friedberg, Jenny and Sam Hui, Matt Searles and Owen Searles; brother-in-law, Frederick L. Taeusch; nephews and nieces and countless friends and colleagues. Services will be held to celebrate John's life on Wednesday, November 9th, at 2:00 p.m. in the Christ Episcopal Church, 400 San Juan Drive, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082 with the Reverend Joan Bryan and the Reverend Deacon Jo Hoskins, officiating.²