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Eric died this week in a diving accident in Ecuador. The word has spread quickly in Seattle, as he was a distinct presence in many communities here. He was a special person and one of my first new friends at Amherst when we both were newbies to the school in 9th grade. We were lucky to have gathered together for our 70th birthday celebration/52nd reunion in September 2022.
À bientôt, mon ami ❤️❤️
Ellen https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/obituaries/eric-scigliano-eclectic-writer-on-seattle-art-elephants-dies-at-71/
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Ellen Ehrenreich (Barker)
Please Google him. Prepare to see page after page about "modest" Eric's literary contributions not only to Seattle, but to the world. Such a loss 😿
Chris Mugel
This is such sad news. Eric was a best friend back in the day, as he was to many. He was goofy, brilliant, gifted with many talents, and curious. We stayed in touch off and on, and reminisced durinjg and after our 50th (52nd) reunion. He wrote for the Atlantic, drew cartoons for The New Yorker, wrote several books (I have a couple, about the marble quarries Michealangelo used, and then elephants - quite good), and explored all manner of topics as a journalist in Seattle. As best I can tell, he lived modestly but traveled all over, lived as he wanted and was always thought-provoking. A gem. This is so sad, but a part of me chuckles, that Eric would die in his 70s...on a diving expedition...in Ecuador. Of course it would be something like that. I know he had a daughter; if any of you in the NW see an obituary, please pass it along.
Ellen Ehrenreich (Barker)
Here are 2 obits:
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/obituaries/eric-scigliano-eclectic-writer-on-seattle-art-elephants-dies-at-71/
https://www.postalley.org/2025/01/28/adventures-in-writing-remembering-seattle-journalist-eric-scigliano-71/
I'm still in shock 😥
Gayle Ablove
Eric was such a good guy. "Scig" was one of of my favorite guys in our class and someone I was always happy to see and talk with - both at ACHS and reunions. I always marveled at his ability to fit in so easily after moving in and not knowing anyone. A genuine, smart, cool, egalitarian, kind person with an amazing breadth. His experience living abroad as child gave him a broader, more nuanced view of the world than most of us had. And yes, that goofiness that brightened the day!After catching up with him at a reunion many years ago, I was awed by his many accomplishments, the tremendous curiosity that created them, and the passion, drive, and perseverance he had to bring them to fruition.
He had an extra yearbook and sent to me in 2023 with a sweet sheepish note about it taking him a year to send it after we talked at our 2022 reunion.
Thank you for including the cause of his death. At least he was doing something he wanted to - but how terrible that there was an accident. I was relieved that it wasn't a terrible disease, a car accident or foul play. Nevertheless, I ache for him not having more time with his daughter and watch his grandchildren grow up, and for the many people who will never meet him and learn from his quiet strenghth
Absolutely, he is gone too soon.
Jean Vannier (Yepes)
The news of Eric Scigliano’s accident is so sad. There’s the tragedy of it. And for me, there’s a sense of regret. He is someone I should have kept in touch with but didn’t. Many of my high school recollections are hazy, but memories of Eric are vivid. As a new boy at Amherst Central Junior High School in ninth grade, he sat next to me. I don’t remember which class it was, but he must have found it boring. He’d prop open his textbook with whatever book he was actually reading inside the open textbook. When he wasn’t reading, he was sketching. Tall and gawky, he hunched over his desk and rarely looked up in that class. He’d sometimes wear a Nehru-collared shirt. When asked about the shirt, he explained that it reminded him of his time living in Vietnam. Nobody else in ninth grade wore a shirt like that, but he didn’t worry about conforming to the norms of junior high. It quickly became clear that Eric knew a lot and learned fast. He also talked fast, with words spilling out in staccato spurts, as if his voice couldn’t keep up with his mind. His restless curiosity was paired with kindness; he took time to listen to and learn about anyone he met. This combination of attributes made him stand out in that school. In high school, while many classmates were at the football games, Eric suggested walking to the Glen Art Theater in Williamsville to see French films. Rather than doing any of the usual sports, Eric took up for fencing. Once, walking past a weedy lawn, he launched into a reflection on Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine. Hints of his wide reading turned up often in this way. Time spent with Eric was never dull. At the end of eleventh grade, just before I left for a senior year as an exchange student in Denmark, Eric gave me one of his fanciful, intricate, pen-and-ink drawings. Except for brief interactions at a few of our high school reunions, that was the last time I talked with him. Reading memorial pieces by his fellow writers at Seattle papers, I wasn’t surprised to learn how varied and extensive his list of books and articles was and that his work could be found in the country’s leading newspapers and journals. It also made sense that he lived an adventurous life. I hope the thought that he died in the Galapagos Islands doing something he loved brings some comfort to his family and friends. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that many of us will remember our extraordinary classmate Eric fondly.