Edwin N. Probert II
5 June 1941 – 22 August 2024
Edwin N. Probert II, departed this life peacefully on August 22, 2024, at Artman Lutheran Home in Ambler, Pennsylvania, at the age of 83. He was preceded in death by his partner of over 45 years, Philip Lawrence Mossburg, III. He is survived by some wonderful cousins, all the wonderful colleagues and former students he taught over the years at the Germantown Academy, and a wonderful circle of gregarious friends.
Edwin was born in Newark, New Jersey, growing up in the Paterson, New Jersey area. He was predeceased by his parents, Edwin Arthur Probert and Marie Eleanore Nightingale. He attended St. Andrew’s School (Class of 1960), moving on to college at Edinboro University, completing a triple major in Education, English and History.
After college, Edwin taught in southern Delaware at Millsboro and Greenwood, eventually teaching English and literature at Germantown Academy (GA), in Ft. Washington, Pennsylvania, until his retirement. He served for several years as the Archivist and Alumni coordinator after retirement from GA. He completed his MEd at the University of Pennsylvania in 1999, followed by a stint at Cambridge’s Madingley Hall for Art History. Edwin expanded the drama program from one show per year to three, with each season including a classic play and a musical production. He coached sailing, tennis and squash. The GA Board of Trustees named Edwin a member of the honorary Class of 1760 and set up a scholarship in his name upon his retirement and served as the archivist for several more years. The greatest joy in his life was teaching young people about writing, literature and theatre.
Edwin was active in many organizations, including the Masons, the Philadelphia Branch of the English Speaking Union (ESU); the Society of Saint George; Phi Delta Kappa fraternity while at Edinboro; and several other and writing clubs. Edwin and Philip enjoyed their time in retirement at their home in Ft. Washington, named “The Green Cottage” and spent time each summer at a cabin in Montrose, PA. Edwin loved to read, to host dinner parties, to garden, making needlepoint pillows, wandering through the many gardens in the area nearby, and started his day reading the Daily Office in the Book of Common Prayer. He loved good movies, theatre, the symphony, and British TV. His favorite indulgence was anything chocolate.
Edwin was a member of and volunteered at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Whitemarsh. His activities included needlepointing kneelers and distributing flowers for pastoral care. His final resting place will be the cemetery located at St. Thomas’. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, August 31, 2024, at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Whitemarsh, at 10 o’clock in the morning. In lieu of flowers, his family requests that donations be made to Germantown Academy, designated to support the Belfrey Club / Scholarship for the Visual and Performing Arts, 340 Morris Road, Ft. Washington, PA 19034. Given that he enjoyed many activities, he would welcome any donation to your favorite charity in his memory.
Mr. Probert was a delightful teacher. I was lucky enough to take a Shakespeare class with him, and I’ll never forget how he made Richard III so alive and relevant. He was irrepressibly funny, and always exhibited the most tell-tale sign of generosity—the ability to laugh without restraint at others’ jokes. When reference to school history was appropriate, a speaker would frequently mention one of his research discoveries; and in those moments, he was always given the title “Our Beloved Archivist”. Best wishes to his family, to his many friends, and to generations of his students.
Edwin, besides being an iconic school master, the driving force behind the Belfry Club (drama club) at Germantown Academy, Edwin make it cool to be a gentleman. He will fondly remember by hundreds if not thousands of his students.
Edwin greeted me energetically and enthusiastically upon my arrival at GA in ‘78. We shared uncountable interesting and enjoyable conversations at the “Faculty Table” in the dining room. He was a kind, warm-hearted and genuine soul. I’ll cherish the many memories he presented me as enduring gifts. Smooth sailing, Edwin…….
oh, my heart. i adored mr. probert [whom my family fondly referred to ask ‘the probes’] for his unapologetically magnificent presence & authenticity. he was unlike any other – himself to the core, hilarious in every situation, brilliant and cheeky and never without a compliment. i loved visiting him in his underground lair, which looked like an antique store and smelled a bit damp and musty – he was so happy there and ruled his roost with great appreciation for his space & his students alike. what an icon, what a legend he was. thank you for showing me how to be proud first and forget the rest. deep love & appreciation for you – always. xxoo
Ed was my freshman and junior year teacher. He taught me how to write, he thought me sense of humor he taught me respect. When prompted on security questions on the internet, he was always my favorite teacher 🙂 I was active in the belfry and Ed would make everyone excel and feel important and special. I am a better person for having had known him. God speed Ed and thank you ?
After a few decades of practicing law, I started as a full time teacher last week. Mr. Probert and many others at GA are emblematic of what a teacher should be: warm and inspiring, expansive and funny, erudite but never pretentious. I am so lucky to have had such role models.
Please accept my deepest sympathies at the loss of a wonderful man.
Mr. Probert was an amazing educator who illuminated whatever space he happened to grace. He shattered stereotypes with a grin and a classic quip. When I was President of the Germantown Academy Alumni Society I had the great pleasure of inducting him into the Honorary Class of 1760 at graduation. Edwin you inspired thousands to love learning and we thank you!
Edwin was one of the first to truly welcome me when I arrived at GA. He and Philip became close friends with our family, even appointing themselves as honorary uncles to our daughter Kate! Edwin was the rarity of a gentle soul who also was inflexible on things that mattered – such as manners (he had his entire class stand every time I entered the room), decorum ( he kept a stash of ties in his classroom because he believed that there were occasions when a gentleman should wear one; picture 15 young men going on field trips or to concerts wearing Mr. Probert’s signature bowties), and paying true homage to the Queen’s English (no cheating!)
He will be missed – but fondly remembered.
Edwin Probert was one of the teachers who left a lasting impression on me. He fostered my love of the English language and the correct use of words there in. I’m saddened to learn of his passing and heartened to think about his legacy. May he rest in peace and may his memory be a blessing to all who knew and loved him.
I am grateful to have been Mr. Probert’s student. While our overlap at the school was a few brief years, he had an enduring impact on me. I’m sure he’d delight in knowing — and hopefully roar laughing — that I have beside me my copy of Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition, more than forty years after I left school.
Thank you Mr. Probert for your wisdom, wit and overall love for the arts. You were the teacher who brought me the confidence to try out for drama club and not be afraid to reach for the stars. Your sense of humor was second to none. RIP good sir!
Ed Probert was synonymous with GA from the very beginning of my time there. I sat in on one of his classes when I was a visiting prospective student and his style (and the Harkness table!!!) bowled me over and sold me on the GA experience. We crossed paths at the student/faculty affairs committee meetings and I took one of his upper level English classes, incisive and amusing in both contexts. He pointed me at the English-Speaking Union exchange scholarship and that sent me off the an amazing post-grad year at Winchester College, one of the UK’s most respected schools. When I got back, Ed asked me to help him with the GA archives project, so I got to spend a few summers and inter-term breaks helping sort through GA’s metaphorical attic and got to hear his recollections of various GA people from decades before my time… a very rewarding experience… Thanks for all you did, Edwin! You’re remembered very fondly.
My condolences to Mr. Probert’s family on their loss. He was a light in this world and a pillar for me in my school years. I greatly appreciated his humor, and his love of English, which he instilled in me. He had a way of making me feel special, and at the same time challenging me to think and feel more deeply. He was a skilled educator, a kind human being, and a friend to me. Thank you and rest in peace.
Edwin was the consummate educator, mentor, gentleman, friend, and true advocate for excellence. He was my english teacher, but also my great supporter and his wonderful sense of humor buoyed me up on many a dreary Monday morning. He taught us all so much more than just English – including the meaning of the word ‘charisma’. He introduced me to the Belfry Club (kicking and screaming) and I never looked back. He was one of a kind and I’m happy that we remained friends after graduation; I always delighted in seeing him at GA functions when my kids started school -but I’m sad not to have seen him for many years. I will always be grateful to have had him as a teacher at such an impressionable time of my life – he will be sorely missed but always loved by all who knew him. I adored him. Best wishes to Philip and all his family and thank you Edwin for being YOU!
Our generation, Edwin Probert’s first at GA, was profoundly marked by him (and his faculty colleagues), during a time of great social change in the US and the world (early 1970s). But where it all came together for many of us was after the school day in Belfry Club, GA’s theatre club, under Mr. Probert’s direction. Many of us are still in touch decades later.
Ed honored me my final year at GA in casting me as the female lead, and student co-director, in one of the Greek tragedies. Our theatrical education was wild, fast-paced and fun but it was also deeply literary. Yes there were all those musicals… but there was also Shakespeare, Molière, Sophocles, Aristophanes, JM Barrie, Wilde, O’Neill, and many others. It was decades before I really realized the gifts we’d been given, in doing theatre under Ed Probert at GA (some students figured it out sooner: actor Bradley Cooper and several other successful Hollywood and NYC film / theatre professionals were among Ed’s students).
Decades later when I was a mother and professional, and after Ed had retired, our paths crossed over several summers at the swimming club of Penllyn. During these years Ed had retired but was serving with passion as the archivist of this school (ours) where he had been a faculty member for decades: Germantown Academy, the oldest non-religious school in continuous existence in our country (founded as the Germantown Union School in 1759). It was fantastic to have the opportunity as an adult to get to know Ed as a person (not “just” a teacher), and to benefit from his deep knowledge of the remarkable history of GA, and more:, because most of our school’s long history took place in historic Germantown, about the very founding of our nation.
Thank you, and Rest in Peace, Mr. Probert!
There are no words, ironic because Ed was so beautifully loquacious! Without him I would not have my lifelong love of good writing and the arts. He gave me confidence I could do more than I thought I could. Thanks Ed, for everything. I always thought of you when seeing good
theater or reading a masterful book. Or even in my own writing (“too many commas!”). That humor and energy….nothing like it.