Deceased November 26, 2019
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In Memory
Skip Sykes died Nov. 26, 2019, after a long illness. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Frances; three children; their spouses; and seven grandchildren.
A native of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., Skip graduated from Episcopal Academy, Merion, Pa. At Amherst, Skip majored in American studies, was a member of Alpha Delta Phi and was named an All-American soccer player his senior year. He later established the Amherst College Class of 1959 Soccer Fund.
After college, Skip taught and coached varsity soccer at Episcopal, where his teams won several Inter-Academic League championships.
He then earned an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and went on to leadership, academic and coaching positions at St. George’s School, after which he served as head of school at St. Edmund’s Academy and then Rumson Country Day School. He also served on the boards of the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools and the SSAT.
Following these engagements, Skip established his own independent educational consulting firm, co-managed a privately owned reliever airport in Virginia and thereafter acted as interim head of Pennington School and then Montgomery School.
For over 30 years, Skip also sat on the board of trustees of the Oceanic Free Library in Rumson, first as secretary and then as president, and was always active in the church where he lived.
On a personal note, Skip and I knew each other from our Episcopal days and then roomed together for all four years at Amherst (which probably says a lot about our relationship). We kept in touch through the years, and I should add that to me he was simply a special, caring friend and wonderful human being. What a loss!
Dick Bond ’59