Copyright Staten Island Advance
Sheila Swigert spent over 20 years teaching at Millburn High School in New Jersey. She taught hundreds of students, one of whom was the actress Anne Hathaway. Hathaway recalled her 10th grade history teacher. “Ms. Swigert was a stand-out teacher during my time at Millburn High School,” Hathaway said. “She was brilliant in her field and did what all great teachers do; she made her subject dynamic so that you wanted to lean in. I was thrilled when I realized I would be in her class — it was widely regarded as a stroke of luck to be assigned to her — and the year she was my teacher I always looked forward to that period with her. Swigert, who resided in St. George, died on Sept. 6 at the age of 88. She passed away on her bed with her cats, Chester and Karl, by her side. The cause of death was neurological decline. “What I remember about her was how commanding she was in front of her class,” Hathaway recalled. “Without ever raising her voice, she projected power and assurance and made you want to share in her passion. She had a polished style and she crackled with intelligence and passion. “She was never harsh with her students, but it was a serious class: She was rigorous and expected excellence,” the actor remembered. “It wasn’t enough to memorize the material — she expected thoughtful, well written essays and, even though she wasn’t an English teacher, made sure you never forgot the importance of grammar. From her I learned many things, including the value of proof-reading!” Swigert was the eldest of four children born to Helen and Anthony Cooney in Honeoye Falls, New York. Her mother was a homemaker and her father was an engineer for Kodak. Her uncle had served in the military during World War I, a topic that would become a scholarly passion for her in later years. As a child, Swigert played basketball, sparking a lifelong love of athletics. “She was always into health and wellness. She was working out to her very last days,” said her nephew, Jeremy Cooney. Growing up, Swigert also learned to play the trumpet. This skill came in handy when she graduated from high school in 1955 and joined the Women’s Army Corps. She was part of a military band that travelled the country. “She went from coast to coast. She was down in the South before the Civil Rights movement. It was a very different era,” Cooney said. “She got to play trumpet for the second inauguration of Eisenhower,” Cooney said. “That was a highlight for her.” While stationed in Alabama, Swigert met her husband, Roger. The pair later divorced. After serving for five years in the WAC, she attended the University of Akron in Ohio and obtained a master’s degree from Rutgers University. Swigert got a job at Millburn High School, commuting every day from Staten Island. “She taught a variety of history classes,” Cooney said. “She taught U.S. history, European history, AP classes. She loved it. She was very involved in student groups as an advisor.” “As a teacher, she was tough but fair,” Cooney said. “She genuinely loved her students. She never had children of her own so she really bonded with these young people and really learned from them enjoyed teaching.” In 1979, Swigert joined the United States Navy Reserves, and was assigned to a submarine unit. “She loved the camaraderie of being in the armed services,” Cooney said. “She felt she was a real patriot. She loved her country.” After her divorce, Swigert found herself looking for companionship. She put a personal ad in the Soho Weekly News. The contents of that personal ad are lost to time, but suffice it to say, it was effective. Through that ad, Swigert met fellow educator Phyllis Fichtenholtz, who was a teacher at Curtis High School. The pair enjoyed a 30-year partnership, traveling the world together, to Africa and India, until Fichtenholtz’s death. In her free time, Swigert volunteered. She served as president of her building’s co-op for over 20 years. She was active in Christ Church New Brighton. Swiget was passionate about animal rights and left thousands of dollars to that cause. “That was her true passion and she made a difference,” Cooney said. She read constantly, finishing two or three books a week, mainly nonfiction but also mysteries. “She was a lifelong learner,” Cooney said. “She would audit classes at Columbia every semester. Her academic passion was World War I, so she did a lot of studying around the Eastern Front in World War I.” “She was fiercely independent. She was a strong woman in every sense of the word. She was sharp with her words, but so loving. I think a lot of people thought she was scary or strict but she had a generous, big heart.”
