For many of the students and staff who passed through the halls of Sewickley Academy between 1963 and 1992, Jim Cavalier was more than just the man who headed the senior school and served as the college guidance counselor.

“Mr. Cav” represented the heart and soul of the high school he helped create.

James Edward Cavalier of Sewickley died on Jan. 5, 2021, from covid-19 complications. He was 93.

“The inspirational founder of Sewickley Academy’s Senior School, Mr. Cav touched hundreds of students, faculty, staff and parents who benefited from the wisdom, leadership and guidance he provided over the years,” school officials wrote in a tribute posted on its website.

“Mr. Cav was a man who understood that the strength of a school and a community rests with the relationships that are formed and strengthened through daily interactions both large and small,” they wrote. “No detail of a student’s life was too minor for Mr. Cav’s attention, and no detail of a graduate’s life seemingly escaped his notice.”

A native of Pittsburgh, Cavalier trained for the seminary as a teenager but instead chose a career in education while studying for his bachelor’s degree at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

Following graduation, he taught at a private high school in Baltimore before returning to the Pittsburgh area to take a job teaching Latin and English at Shady Side Academy.

In 1963, Cavalier was recruited to become the founding head of the new Senior School being planned for Sewickley Academy.

He developed the school’s academic programs by visiting high schools around the country to learn about the best ways to achieve his vision for an inspiring learning environment that “set high standards, afford significant autonomy and responsibility to students and reflect the best of what a premier college-prep program could be,” according to school officials.

Insurance executive Bill Lieberman of Shadyside, who serves as vice chairman of the state Turnpike Commission, said much of his success is the result of the guidance and life lessons he received from Cavalier.

“He was my Latin teacher and advisor when I attended Shady SideAcademy in the early ’60s,” said Lieberman, 74. “In those days, the only kids who got a lot of attention were the great students and the great athletes, and I was neither. But his position was, whatever you want to be, you should be the best you can be at it and enjoy it — whether it was the president of the United States or the person cleaning the floors. He was the most non-judgmental person I’ve ever met and could find good in everybody. I would not have gotten through Shady Side Academy without him.”

Cavalier’s profound impact on Lieberman prompted him to launch the James E. Cavalier Scholarship fund at Sewickley Academy in 1984.

A tribute to Cavalier written by Class of 1979 graduate Whitney Snyder when he retired from Sewickley Academy describes him as: “Always quick to laugh and slow to scold. It would be difficult to find a man who exhibited more empathy for his students.

“He sought to understand the unique circumstances of each of us, and our travails stood little chance against Mr. Cav’s soothing tone and his unpatronizing wisdom,” she wrote.

After retiring from Sewickley Academy, Cavalier served as an admissions officer for Carnegie Mellon until 2002.

In 1990 he was honored by the Pennsylvania Association for College Admission Counseling for his dedication to students and the profession. Cavalier and his wife received the Sewickley Herald’s Citizen of the Year Award in 2003.

“My father-in-law was a truly exceptional educator and human being,” said Mark Plotkin of Washington, D.C. “When I met my wife 35 years ago and made my first-ever trip to Pittsburgh to meet her family, I was taken aback to see just how highly regarded he was.”

Whether it was in a professional setting, at church or on the street “he would always draw a crowd,” Plotkin said. “Everybody knew him and he was revered. It was really remarkable.”

Plotkin said he will remember his father-in-law as “wise, calm and extraordinarily kind.”

“He always had a steady stream of visitors to his home — students he had taught from the early 1950s through the 1990s,” he said.

Cavalier’s daughter, Elisa Cavalier, said she and her sisters were raised with the same positive reinforcement and caring that drew students to her father and led them to stay in touch with him long after they graduated.

“He really was the consummate teacher,” she said. “He loved fishing and taught us to do it with little plastic fishing poles when we were young. We could catch a minnow and he would make us feel like it was a marlin.”

Cavalier said her father also took great joy in other people’s accomplishments.

“He really loved watching people develop and become good human beings,” she said. “That was one of the missions in his life. He really felt the world could be a better place with a gentle push, some encouragement and a lot of understanding and empathy.”

Cavalier is survived by his wife of 63 years, Jacqueline “Patty” Cavalier, as well as daughters Teresa Plotkin, Elisa Cavalier, Carolyn Cavalier and their families.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by the R.D. Copeland Funeral home in Sewickley. Mr. Cavalier’s obituary can be viewed online.

There is no visitation or funeral service planned because of covid-19 restrictions. A memorial service will be conducted at a later date.

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