Remembering Anatole Sykley

We are all very saddened about the unexpected death on March 22, 2023 of long-time CCAE history teacher, Anatole Sykley.

We will always remember Anatole as an outstanding and inspiring history teacher, an enthusiastic life-long learner, a loyal and generous supporter, and a very good friend. He dedicated his life to history and research and passionately transmitted this love of learning to his students.

We will miss Anatole dearly and our thoughts are with Anatole's family including his wife Juliana, daughter Micala, son-in-law Robert and granddaughter Noel Victoria.

Continue to read as a selection of CCAE students, instructors, and community members express their sympathy and share their fond memories of Anatole Sykley:

• “I was inspired by Anatole’s wide range of international interests and created a piece in memory of him, based on artwork within Chinese monuments. I took 20 or 30 classes with Anatole over the course of a decade, from ancient ages to World Wars. I’m really going to miss him. I’m not sure if we’ll find another like him. I feel lucky to have had that time with him.” – Jon Bush (artwork pictured)
  

• "Anatole was a unique person who will be greatly missed by all of his students. He leaves a big gap in CCAE history faculty. I send warmest wishes of comfort to his family." — Georges P.
  

• "Anatole was one of the best history teachers I know of. Whatever topics he decided to teach on he must have done meticulous research on. I learned a great deal from him, I probably took seven or eight classes of his. I will miss him." — Howard B.
  

• "I was a student for five classes at the Cambridge Adult Education. Anatole was an exceptional teacher. His preparation and class handouts were so impressive. He will be remembered for his love of teaching and love of learning." — Barbara P.
  

• "Anatole was my instructor at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. I took 4 or 5 classes with him. He seemed to have encyclopedic knowledge of any subject he chose to teach. His enthusiasm and energy in class was boundless. Unforgettable." — Kate A.
  

• "Anatole was a truly amazing and wonderful teacher! So full of enthusiasm for history and sharing his knowledge. I will always appreciate what he shared as a teacher." — Jacqueline G.
  

• "I had the opportunity to meet Anatole at a CCAE instructor gathering a few years ago, and frankly, it was such a enjoyable and remarkable encounter and conversation. Anatole was cool - just cool - there is no better way to describe his personality. It had been on my list to take one of his insightful courses, but sadly, I am left with the memory of that wonderful moment and conversation. Truly, a great loss us all." — Liz C.
  

• "I enjoyed taking several years of courses from Anatole through spring of 2022, and considered myself a member of the Anatole Fan Club. He was quite the guy." — Lisa B.

• "I only took 1 class with Anatole about 2 years ago, Byzantine Iconography, and would you know I was just telling someone about it today? A very intelligent man and so willing to pass on his knowledge to others. He was an inspiring teacher; I learned a great deal from him. And I continued to educate myself on the subject matter he awakened us to. A big loss for our community. Please pass condolences on to his family from just one of his many, many students." — Meghan M.
  

• "What a shock hearing the sad news about Anatole. Of course it was just last Wednesday we were asking about him. As you know, I have taken many of his courses. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of world history and had his own unique and frequently entertaining style of presenting it. He was so delighted with the birth of his new granddaughter. We extend to his family the condolences of all of us who have been enriched by his classes at CCAE over the years." — Don K.
  

• "Anatole easily was one of the finest human beings any of us has ever met. And most obviously he was an unsurpassed scholar and teacher. Anatole’s command of every subject he taught was easily beyond that of any teacher I’ve ever had. Hands down there’s been no one else close. And to me he also was the leading symbol of the CCAE. Please send this on to Anatole’s spouse and family with my deepest condolences. Respectfully, one of many grateful students of Anatole Sykley." — Bryan H.
  

• "I took Mr. Sykley's classes two times from Japan and Philadelphia via ZOOM. I am very surprised and very saddened. I am very grateful for his classes and that I still look back at the materials he gave me from time to time. I will never forget his kindness and the intellectual excitement of his classes." — Ryota M.
  

• "I am so sorry to hear the shocking and tragic news of Anatole's passing. This is such a terrible loss for his family, for the CCAE community, and for everyone who knew this very special man. I was fortunate to have been a student in the recent class Anatole taught about Greek art and architecture, which I loved - he was a fountain of wisdom (and wit), and his passion for the subject came across so clearly. Anatole was so inspiring and so full of life; he is someone I will always remember." — Melissa R.
  

• "I was shocked to learn of Anatole's sudden death. It was a joy to be among his students for many classes both in person and online over many years. He led us through complex histories and subjects with enthusiasm and knowledge. I am really sorry that he will no longer be with us. Please extend my condolences to his wife and other family members." — Doris C.
  

• "I came late to discovering him, having taken 3 or 4 of his classes in the last couple of years. And I was signed up for his Pacific Rim class this spring. He saved my sanity during the beginning of the pandemic. His classes, his exuberant personality were addictive. The greatest loss. Before his classes, I hadn't taken a class at CCAE for 10 years or more. So, so sorry that he is gone. Such a wonderful bright light! Nobody was like him." — Marilyn J.

• "Anatole and I had different interests in history, different methods for preparing classes, different methods for delivering our thoughts. Yet we managed to twice work together, to prepare a presentation on CCAE’s history and to teach a course on the vast span of ancient Roman history. To do this, an instructor has to have extensive knowledge of the subject, a passion to teach it, and yet the humility to yield to the skills of others, to say nothing of a sense of humor when problems crop up along the way. And these Anatole had. He could make history sound exciting because he sounded excited by it. That excitement came across to his students, and that is a great gift for an instructor to have." — Brian Bixby, CCAE Instructor