Deceased December 6, 2001
View alumni profile (log in required)
In Memory
For all of us who believe deeply in putting people first, Alan Walter Bisiewicz, who passed away from cancer on Dec. 6, 2001, was a genuine hero! I remember Al, who many of us liked to call “Bis,” as one of the friendliest, most outgoing guys in our class. As a true “people person,” it is not surprising that Al majored in psychology at Amherst. To the best of my knowledge, he and I are the only ones who went from Amherst to study social work in graduate school—Al went to Smith and I went to Bryn Mawr. Al loved graduate school and became an extraordinarily skilled and effective social worker. He loved working with people, and worked really hard at it—even for eight months after he had been diagnosed with cancer—until one month before he died (at home, while holding hands with his wife and children).
At the time of his death, Al was the president of the Western New England employee assistance professionals association. He helped countless people during his 19 years as a wellness coordinator for Mass. Mutual and at Signa Insurance in Holyoke. He also worked in a private practice with families and individuals for more than 20 years and set an outstanding example for the people he served by being an exemplary “family man” himself. Al’s widow after 19 years of happy marriage, Susan (Duffy) Bisiewicz, told me that Al “was very active in his parenting responsibilities which he enjoyed to the fullest—such as helping to coach soccer, class field trips, etc. He was ever present for his son and daughter.” Al’s son, Zachary Principe, now lives in California, and his daughter, Rachel, a fine pianist, is at home with her mother.
Al was an avid gardener and an artist. He loved photography and working with stained glass. He attended the South Amherst Congregational Church where he was buried on Dec. 12, 2001. His parents live in South Hadley.
Everyone I have spoken with in our class remembers Al with great affection and respect. He is universally remembered as a “fun and friendly guy” who enjoyed his fraternity (Delta Upsilon) to the fullest, and was especially close to John D’Andrea ’73 and Danny Johnson ’74. Al’s widow is especially grateful to these two men for their support during Al’s illness. She indicated that she is also so fond of Amherst College that she hopes to be able to continue to receive Amherst, even though Al is no longer with us, so as to provide a sense of continuity in the midst of change. He will be greatly missed by all of his Amherst friends, and also by the extended Bisiewicz and Duffy families.
Edmund B. Spaeth III ’73