Mourning the loss of Elwin Sykes

Elwin Sykes P’92, ’97, ’01, Phillips Academy instructor in English for more than 30 years (1973–1996 and 2002–2010), and former director of (MS)² and Summer Session, passed away on October 3, 2024, in Brooklyn, New York, following a four-year battle with cancer. He also served as house counselor of Taylor Hall West and coached cross country, football, fencing, and baseball.

Born and raised in segregated Shreveport, Louisiana, Elwin and his future wife, Rebecca “Becky” Miller, met in chemistry class. After having been high school sweethearts, both found themselves in Cambridge, Mass., for college, Elwin at Harvard and Becky at Radcliffe. They got married shortly after Elwin graduated and was still at Harvard working on a master’s in English. In 1973, Elwin was invited to become an instructor in English at Andover.

“Elwin defined what it means to be a Renaissance man,” said Barbara Landis Chase, 14th head of school. “His astonishing breadth of interests and passion for teaching combined when he created and taught his innovative, multidisciplinary course on New Orleans, a city he deeply loved. He proved himself a scholar and a gifted teacher as well as a true friend to many of us on campus. Above all, Elwin loved and supported his family. Over the years, his pride in the many achievements of his wife and growing sons was palpable.” 

Trustee Emeritus Bill Lewis ’74 met Elwin and Becky when they first arrived on campus at the beginning of his senior year. “Elwin was my instructor in African American literature, and it was by far my best experience in Bulfinch,” said Lewis. “His course served as a foundation for a lifetime of future study and learning. Elwin had a sparkle in his eye and a knowing smile when discussing literature and jazz—and his family.”

In 2010, Elwin retired from Andover and Becky left in 2013 for an opportunity to lead a foundation supporting girls in South Africa. There, Elwin developed a further interest in wildlife and photography and occasionally spoke about literature and civil rights to classes at the school where Becky was based. The couple moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., in 2018, and Elwin immersed himself, as much as his health allowed, in the lives of all three of his grandchildren.

Ada Fan, former PA instructor in English, remembers Elwin as “a master teacher, earnest and intense, who engaged his students, made them think critically and actively, holding them to account, but also supporting them. He was a wonderful colleague and mentor, profoundly thoughtful and intellectually playful, with a wit sharp and wry and a humor gentle and teasing too. He was a steadfast champion of justice and fair play.”

Elwin is survived by Becky, his wife of almost 53 years, and their three sons, Emmett Ernest Sykes ’92 (wife Tahia Bell), Eliot Bryant Sykes ’97 (partner Ruth Arévalo and child Manu Bé Arévalo Sykes), and Emerson James Sykes ’01 (wife Natasha Marsh and sons Otis Michael Marsh-Sykes and Biko Marsh-Sykes).