Francis J. McKibbin Jr., 67, architect

Francis J. McKibbin Jr., 67, of Center City, an architect who served as manager of major building projects in Philadelphia and elsewhere, died Friday, July 18, of sarcoma at Pennsylvania Hospital.

Born in Germantown, he graduated from Father Judge Catholic High School for Boys. He earned a bachelor's degree in architecture from Pennsylvania State University.

He worked for Day & Zimmerman Associates, which became the Vitetta Group. He joined Alta Management as a partner with Majid Alseya, and later founded his own firm, Three Peaks Management.

In 2007, Mr. McKibbin was hired as director of design and construction of the $786 million Convention Center expansion project. The project, completed in 2011, substantially increased the amount of space for big gatherings.

He had served as an architect and construction manager of the Convention Center, a $500 million project completed in 1994.

In the last several years, Mr. McKibbin worked to complete the Philadelphia criminal justice facility in West Philadelphia and the new Family Court building in Center City. The latter will open this October.

"My roles are to monitor the project schedules, review the project budget, and resolve large contractor claims," Mr. McKibbin said in a summary of his credentials.

Outside the city, he was involved in the reconstruction of Fort Stanwix, a national monument in Rome, N.Y.; the building of various structures for Corning Glass Co.; and the construction of schools in Massachusetts and New Jersey, including in Cherry Hill and Mount Laurel.

His leisure-time passions were skiing, hiking, and vacationing in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Mr. McKibbin was adventurous, outgoing, and fair. "He stood up for people who worked hard," his family said in a tribute. "He was a very hard worker himself and valued literacy and education."

He also loved baseball and coached Little League in Narberth for 20 years. He held season tickets to Penn State football games for years. The family lived in Penn Valley before moving to Center City in 2000.

Surviving are his wife, Patricia McKibbin, and a daughter, Dawn.

Services were Thursday, July 24, with interment in Calvary Cemetery.

Donations may be made to St. Francis Xavier Church Student Tuition Fund, 2319 Green St., Philadelphia 19130.