Dale Jaeger, a noted Gainesville landscape architect, died recently while in Washington, D.C., for the annual convention of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). She was 74.
Jaeger, a South Carolina native, graduated from Brenau College (now university) in 1973 with a degree in English. After graduation she lived and worked in Charleston, S.C. where she was exposed to her future vocation after meeting a landscape architect. And the rest, as say, is history.
Eventually, she got a master’s in landscape management and worked for the Georgia Mountain Regional Planning Commission in Gainesville, where she established the first historic preservation program for the Northeast Georgia region. In 1984, she opened The Jaeger Company (TJC) and over the next 30 years, according to her obituary, with a group of talented colleagues, completed projects focused on cultural, ecological, and civic landscapes, primarily for public-sector clients. The company grew, having two offices, one in Gainesville and one in Athens. TJC received numerous awards in design and historic preservation. After selling the company in 2014, D.G. continued to practice with the new firm, WLA Studio.
As a member of the Gainesville Rotary Club, she was in charge of maintaining a Christmas landmark in town – the Rotary Tree.