Ted J. Swisher ’71

We lost one of our most remarkable and influential classmates when Ted died July 8, 2021, of cancer complications in Albuquerque, N.M. 

Ted came to Princeton from Mt. Lebanon High School in Pittsburgh, Pa., as a state wrestling champion and football co-captain. His Princeton wrestling success included Cane Spree, freshman (undefeated captain), and varsity. He majored in sociology and roomed with Uyeda, Brodbeck, Sell, Salmon, Macaleer, and Moessner. Roommates remember his sense of humor, modesty, and thoughtful decision to express his Christian faith through community action. Through a junior-year internship at Koinonia Farm, a Christian community in Georgia promoting social justice, Ted found his life’s work. 

Returning to Koinonia after graduation, he became its executive director in 1976. In 1984 Ted joined Koinonia’s housing-movement spinoff: Habitat for Humanity. With Ted in a major leadership role, Habitat grew from 23 to 1,700 affiliates in the United States. He oversaw the international expansion of Habitat to hundreds of affiliates in 70 countries. 

Ted married Lisa Verploegh in 1987 and they had two children, Benjamin and Miriam. After a divorce, he married Betsy Groves in 2000. Moving from national to local, Ted assumed the leadership of Habitat’s Santa Fe (N.M.) affiliate in 2006. He always enjoyed fishing, hiking, camping, and sports, especially the Steelers. 

Tributes poured in from the Habitat community. The class extends its condolences to Ted’s family and friends.