Guy Ladd Frost, Architect
Guy Ladd Frost of Roslyn and Springs died last Thursday of Lewy body dementia at the Sands Point Center for Health and Rehabilitation in Port Washingon. He was 85.
As an architect, Mr. Frost concentrated on restoring historic buildings, both in Roslyn and other Long Island communities. He had offices in Roslyn and in East Hampton, where he was involved in the Whalebone Woods affordable housing project.
Among his awards was an Archi from the Long Island chapter of the American Institute of Architects and others, in 1977 and 1993, from the Preservation League of New York State. The Village of Roslyn honored him in 2015 for 50 years of service to the community.
He was born in Brooklyn on Jan. 17, 1934, one of four children of Stanley Frost and Rose Laurier Frost. Because his father was a traveling salesman, Mr. Frost’s family traveled throughout his childhood, from Brooklyn to New Zealand and Australia, and to West Virginia and North Dakota, where they settled. Mr. Frost attended high school there with his brother and two sisters, who died before him.
From 1954 to 1958 Mr. Frost served in the Air Force as an aircraft controller, stationed first in Japan and later in Montauk. After leaving the service, in 1958, he enrolled in the architecture program at the Rhode Island School of Design on the G.I. Bill. There, he met Donna Dussault, who was studying illustration. They married on Memorial Day 1959 and spent summers in Montauk while completing their degrees.
In 1965, the couple moved to Roslyn, where Mr. Frost was “taken under the wing of a master preservationist, Admiral Roger Gerry,” his family said, and with whom he worked for 25 years restoring and adapting 50 structures in Roslyn’s Historic District, including the Ellen E. Ward Clock Tower.
The couple bought a house in Springs in 1973, which helped Mr. Frost pursue his interest in motor sports at the Bridgehampton Race Circuit, where he participated in regional events as a Sports Car Club of America driver and steward. In 1981, he founded the Bridgehampton Racing Heritage Group and dedicated himself to preserving the track. He continued to organize events, such as the Vanderbilt Cup Races that highlighted the history of Long Island car racing, even after the track was closed in 1998.
His wife of 59 years, his children, Erica French of Canada, Christopher Frost of Glen Head, and Jessica Frost of Springs, survive, as do five grandchildren.
Memorial donations have been suggested for the Roslyn Landmark Society, P.O. Box 234, Roslyn 11576.
Mr. Frost was cremated. His ashes will be scattered on the site of the former Bridgehampton race track. A memorial service will be held in Roslyn at a future date.