Willoughby G. Cheney III, architect; at 47

WILLOUGHBY CHENEY III

Willoughby Greer Cheney III, an architect, died Aug. 8 at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center in Roslindale of complications due to superficial siderosis of the central nervous system. He was 47 and a resident of Belmont.

Mr. Cheney helped design residential and mixed-use developments, as well as buildings for the public sector. He was involved in the design of a Porter Square shopping mall in Cambridge, from the initial design through the final construction administration, his family said.

He was also the project architect and manager for construction of the Danvers and Harwich fire stations.

Mr. Cheney was born in North Carolina and attended Clemson University, where he received a master's degree in architecture.

He began his career in Spain and then moved to Boston in 1988. Mr. Cheney worked for a number of architectural firms in the Boston area. For the past 12 years, he was an associate with Arrowstreet Inc. in Somerville.

In 1994, he met the woman who would be his wife of 13 years, Marta Marie Kabalin, also an architect. She said her husband was known for his sense of humor and dry wit. He found humor in those little everyday moments, she said.

"He was a man of few words, but when he let them out, they were thoughtful, and sometimes they were really good zingers," Marta said.

She said he was an avid reader with a curious mind. He also enjoyed being outdoors, bike riding, cross-country skiing, and walking.

She said that despite her husband's health problems, he made time for their 11-year-old son, Will. They would read the comics together every night and rate their favorites, she said.

"He had such a positive attitude," she said.

"He never complained. He never allowed his life to be defined by his failing health."

In addition to his wife and son, he leaves his mother, Winnie Davis Satterfield Cheney of Elon, N.C., and two sisters, Sarah Cheney of Clemmons, N.C., and Ashley Cheney of Greenville, S.C.

A memorial service will be held today at 3 p.m. in the MIT Chapel in Cambridge.