Ariel J. Lazier ’03

Ari died Sept. 26, 2025, in San Francisco, where he lived. He was 44.

He was born in Norfolk, Va., to Jay and Nancy Lazier. Ari was schooled at the Hebrew Academy of Tidewater and then at Ocean Lakes High School, where he was valedictorian. At Princeton, he majored in computer science and was a member of Terrace Club and the University Wind Ensemble. After graduation, he worked at Microsoft and several software startups. There he helped invent some of the first apps used to create and share music, including Smule, Magic Piano, and I Am T-Pain.

Over the last two decades, Ari became an avid outdoorsman. He enjoyed surfing, skiing, hiking, and climbing with his friends in some of the more challenging and beautiful venues around the world. To this end, he built a traveling home for himself. He was an artisan in the true sense of the word: a woodworker, mechanic, musician, and sculptor.

At the time of his death, Ari was survived by his parents; his brother and sister; and extended family and friends (his father died Nov. 28, 2025). Our class extends its deepest sympathies to them all. He was a brilliant and voraciously energetic man who lived those years with intention and passion.