Glade Sperry Jr. was so steeped in his work that he pored over architecture books and took vacations where he could look at buildings.

GLADE SPERRY JR. Age: 57 Occupation: Principal architect, Westwork Architects Notable projects: Albuquerque High School classroom addition; University of New Mexico stadium improvements; Pete and Nancy Domenici Hall at UNM Date and cause of death: May 12, primary schlerosing cholangitis, an immune system disease Birth date and place: Aug. 3, 1948, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio Education: Graduated 1967, New Mexico Military Institute; 1972, master's degree in architecture, UNM Survivors: Wife Cindy Terry; daughter Emily Sperry; sister Terri Carr; sister and brother-in-law Kathi and Jim Hancock Services: Memorial service, 7 tonight, UNM Chapel

Sperry, 57, died Friday in Albuquerque of complications from primary schlerosing cholangitis, an autoimmune disease.

He and his wife, Cindy Terry, spent their honeymoon viewing buildings designed by favorite architects in San Diego. Later, they vacationed in Phoenix and Austin.

Sperry also appreciated the architecture of older dwellings, like Mesa Verde.

Terry met him when she was an architecture student at the University of New Mexico and he visited one of her classes to critique students' work.

"All I remember was I didn't know who he was exactly," Terry said.

He and other architects who were visiting started discussing her work.

She was concerned about their reaction, until Sperry pointed out something in her work to the others.

"Look at this," he told them. "This is something you're born with."

That kindness and respect turned into a friendship and working relationship.

Sperry hired Terry as an intern in 1985. She became a partner at Westwork Architects in 1992. They married in 1999.

Sperry nurtured his daughter, Emily Sperry.

"We have a very open relationship," she said. "There's not a lot about me he didn't know."

He gave good advice.

"He'd say, `Don't stress about it. Things will fall into place.' "

He enjoyed history and collected items from the 1939 New York World's Fair, particularly because of new industrial technology featured there.

He also had a collections of classic model cars and airplanes, stamps and baseball cards.

And, maybe because he was a UNM alum or because his firm designed improvements for the football stadium, he enjoyed his Lobos, especially in basketball.

When doctors told Sperry he had only weeks left, he began planning services.

In the course of making decisions, he told his wife, "Man, this is another party I'll miss."

She arranged a gathering of close friends for a living wake where they shared stories.

It wasn't a sad event, Terry said.

When told he didn't have long to live, "he was maybe kind of disappointed for a split second, then immediately moved into a wonderful attitude of thinking `I'm not going to waste it being sad or depressed.' "

A few days before he died, Sperry insisted on a short shopping trip to a bookstore. He bought some architectural magazines and books.

As always, he wanted to learn more about the work he loved and shared with his loved ones.