Pete graduated from Brown with an engineering degree before volunteering for the Peace Corp. He was an avid sailor, entrepreneur, and active neighborhood volunteer. He and his wife Mary Anne lived in Littleton, CO where they raised their two sons.
Pete's wife, Mary Anne Zwarg, was kind enough to provide the following details for us.
Peter played football at Brown and was a member of the wrestling team. He also belonged to Sigma Xi fraternity and Delta Phi.
He served in Liberia at the Interior Ministry in the capital city Monrovia in the Peace Corps. Most of his efforts revolved around supporting the outlying counties with expertise and logistics in the building of roads, bridges, schools, and markets. He received a Liberian medal for his outstanding volunteer work with the Peace Corps.
He worked in corporate America for companies large and small, but found what he was looking for in his own business, which we started in 1998 . Until he died, he was designing, marketing, and supporting systems dedicated to audio and video surveillance over the Internet and intranets.
Over the course of many years, he volunteered in various capacities including board member of the HOA of our neighborhood, advisor in the Junior Achievement program, and interviewer of candidates applying to Brown.
I moved from Warwick Rd, about 3 houses from Pete's house, to Wayne Ave after 7th grade and my circle of friends changed due mainly to geography. Then we moved from Haddonfield after my sophomore year, and the more I read about my former classmates, the more I feel short-changed that I didn't get to hang out and grow older with you guys. I have many fond memories of Pete, but I wish I had been there to have had more. You guys are an amazing collection of classmates.
One of my most traumatic memories of my early childhood took place at his house for what I believe was a birthday party. I was probably 10 or so. We were in the nautical-themed basement and some of us had taken off our shoes so we could slide across the highly polished "deck" in our socks. I had just started a long slide when his mom came down the stairs and stepped right into my "glide path". I couldn't stop, and I took her down like a sack of potatoes. I was mortified, but she was a real trooper and got up and did her best to make me feel better.
About a month before he died I had tried to locate him on-line and dropped a note to what I hoped was his company. I never heard back, and I wasn't really sure I had the right company untilI read Vicki's post. So sorry I missed him.
Yes, Vicki, thanks for the details of Pete's remarkable life. The Peace Corps was and is one of the great Kennedy-era legacies and a common touchstone among many of my friends. But the fact that Pete was in Liberia makes it doubly interesting. Liberia was founded by prominent Americans like Thomas Jeffreson in the early 1800s as a safe haven for blacks in America who had escaped from slavery, and one of only two black republics in the world. Pete was brilliant, and it's great to know he did well by doing good, as they say, using his many talents in the service of others.
I remember Pete so well as a fellow AFS host. His lovely parents hosted a dinner for us and our "siblings", and in an attempt to be grown up, I accepted my first cup of coffee, which I sipped carefully trying not to show that I hated it. I expected nothing less than his distinguished life. Another great loss for our class and the world.
I met Peter Zwarg when we were in the same kindergarten class at Central School. I spent a lot of my childhood and adolescence with Pete. He lived a little more than two blocks away from me so playing after school and on weekends was a natural. We were both involved in scouts at Troop 51 at the Presbyterian Church in town. Over the years, we managed to camp in some pretty cool places. By the time we got to high school, we were still very good friends, but Pete was a heck of lot more athletic than I was. In fact, in looking though The Shield, I realized just how many activities and sports he was involved in. But no matter, there was always occasion for some good times. The Zwarg’s residence had the most incredible basement since at least half of it was fitted out to resemble the promenade deck of an ocean liner. Pete’s parents were also tolerant of the occasional discrete consumption of alcohol on the premises as we got older.
Pete was a big guy, and he had a big personality to match. I’m sure that served him well during his tour with the Peace Corp in West Africa. One of the last times I saw Pete was at Ken Weaber’s wedding many years ago, but he certainly made his presence known. A very good friend of mine’s sister was at Brown the same time as Pete, and when I described him, she knew exactly who I was talking about.
It was indeed a shock last November when Conni Spiegle told me of Peter’s passing. Like Ken, Fred and Wayne, I think of him often.
Vicki Meece (Knowles)
Pete graduated from Brown with an engineering degree before volunteering for the Peace Corp. He was an avid sailor, entrepreneur, and active neighborhood volunteer. He and his wife Mary Anne lived in Littleton, CO where they raised their two sons.
Vicki Meece (Knowles)
Pete's wife, Mary Anne Zwarg, was kind enough to provide the following details for us.
Peter played football at Brown and was a member of the wrestling team. He also belonged to Sigma Xi fraternity and Delta Phi.
He worked in corporate America for companies large and small, but found what he was looking for in his own business, which we started in 1998 . Until he died, he was designing, marketing, and supporting systems dedicated to audio and video surveillance over the Internet and intranets.
Over the course of many years, he volunteered in various capacities including board member of the HOA of our neighborhood, advisor in the Junior Achievement program, and interviewer of candidates applying to Brown.
Bob Greenberg
Wow, a life well lived and too short for certain. Thanks, Vicki.
Dick Pendleton
I moved from Warwick Rd, about 3 houses from Pete's house, to Wayne Ave after 7th grade and my circle of friends changed due mainly to geography. Then we moved from Haddonfield after my sophomore year, and the more I read about my former classmates, the more I feel short-changed that I didn't get to hang out and grow older with you guys. I have many fond memories of Pete, but I wish I had been there to have had more. You guys are an amazing collection of classmates.
One of my most traumatic memories of my early childhood took place at his house for what I believe was a birthday party. I was probably 10 or so. We were in the nautical-themed basement and some of us had taken off our shoes so we could slide across the highly polished "deck" in our socks. I had just started a long slide when his mom came down the stairs and stepped right into my "glide path". I couldn't stop, and I took her down like a sack of potatoes. I was mortified, but she was a real trooper and got up and did her best to make me feel better.
About a month before he died I had tried to locate him on-line and dropped a note to what I hoped was his company. I never heard back, and I wasn't really sure I had the right company untilI read Vicki's post. So sorry I missed him.
Josh Gitomer
Yes, Vicki, thanks for the details of Pete's remarkable life. The Peace Corps was and is one of the great Kennedy-era legacies and a common touchstone among many of my friends. But the fact that Pete was in Liberia makes it doubly interesting. Liberia was founded by prominent Americans like Thomas Jeffreson in the early 1800s as a safe haven for blacks in America who had escaped from slavery, and one of only two black republics in the world. Pete was brilliant, and it's great to know he did well by doing good, as they say, using his many talents in the service of others.
Janet Haynes (Lehman)
I remember Pete so well as a fellow AFS host. His lovely parents hosted a dinner for us and our "siblings", and in an attempt to be grown up, I accepted my first cup of coffee, which I sipped carefully trying not to show that I hated it. I expected nothing less than his distinguished life. Another great loss for our class and the world.
Ed Madden
I met Peter Zwarg when we were in the same kindergarten class at Central School. I spent a lot of my childhood and adolescence with Pete. He lived a little more than two blocks away from me so playing after school and on weekends was a natural. We were both involved in scouts at Troop 51 at the Presbyterian Church in town. Over the years, we managed to camp in some pretty cool places. By the time we got to high school, we were still very good friends, but Pete was a heck of lot more athletic than I was. In fact, in looking though The Shield, I realized just how many activities and sports he was involved in. But no matter, there was always occasion for some good times. The Zwarg’s residence had the most incredible basement since at least half of it was fitted out to resemble the promenade deck of an ocean liner. Pete’s parents were also tolerant of the occasional discrete consumption of alcohol on the premises as we got older.
Pete was a big guy, and he had a big personality to match. I’m sure that served him well during his tour with the Peace Corp in West Africa. One of the last times I saw Pete was at Ken Weaber’s wedding many years ago, but he certainly made his presence known. A very good friend of mine’s sister was at Brown the same time as Pete, and when I described him, she knew exactly who I was talking about.
It was indeed a shock last November when Conni Spiegle told me of Peter’s passing. Like Ken, Fred and Wayne, I think of him often.