John Warnecke, architect who designed JFK grave site, dies at 91

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John Carl Warnecke, an architect who designed President John F. Kennedy’s grave site at Arlington National Cemetery, has died. He was 91.

Known as Jack, Warnecke died April 17 from pancreatic cancer at his Sonoma County ranch near Healdsburg, along the Russian River.

Warnecke met Kennedy in the early 1960s and developed a close friendship with the first couple. The president tapped him to restore Lafayette Square across from the White House in 1962. He was later appointed to the federal fine arts commission.

Warnecke was a proponent of contextual architecture, known for bringing a sensitivity to environment and history to his designs. His many projects included the Hart Senate Office Building and Kennedy’s grave site with its eternal flame.

A full obituary will follow at www.latimes.com/obits.

-- Associated Press

Below, Warnecke shows JFK plans in May 1963 for a possible site for a library to house the president’s public papers near Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.

Credits: Associated Press