Eric Zwemer ’77

Eric died Sept. 13, 2018, after fighting an aggressive cancer. His classmates remember him best as an extremely talented actor. 

At Princeton he was in Theatre Intime. After graduation Eric acted professionally for several years. He became a teacher after deciding that he would not become the actor he wanted to be. Eric became the teacher we all wanted in high school. 

He was a history teacher at the Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles for 29 years. Fellow teacher Ted Walch, who taught Eric in eighth grade and remained close friends with him since, said, “When I got a call to come here two years [after Zwemer], two things crossed my mind, and I mean this in my heart of hearts. I want to be in a place that has students like Eric Zwemer was when I taught him at St. Albans School. I also want to be in a place where my colleagues are like Eric Zwemer. So I got two in one. Well, actually I got three in one. I got a great friend.” 

One of Eric’s students wrote, “You are easily one of the best teachers I have had. Your passion, knowledge, engagement, and effort are so clear in each 45-minute period. I tell nearly everyone around me that you are one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. The best history teacher and most engaging lecturer I’ve ever had. I mean that.” 

Not a bad good-bye for any of us.