Later Career, Retirement, and Death
Warnecke opened an office in New York City in 1967, hiring noted architects Eugene Kohn in 1967 and Sheldon Fox in 1972. By 1977, his company, John Carl Warnecke & Associates, was the largest architectural firm in the United States. But in his late 50s, Warnecke began reducing his active involvement in his architectural practice. Warnecke purposely downsized his firm as he approached retirement, not wishing for his firm to continue after his death.
He retired in the 1980s and began growing grapes at a vineyard in California's Alexander Valley. Warnecke reportedly spent some time writing about architecture. He also devoted efforts to establishing the Warnecke Institute of Design, Art and Architecture, a think tank which looked at the effect worldwide trends (such as global warming and resource scarcity) will have on architecture. Warnecke also worked on his memoirs, which he completed shortly before he died.
John Carl Warnecke died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 91 at his home in Healdsburg, California, on April 17, 2010. He was survived by his second wife, his daughter, and his two sons.
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