Ben Ziemski was the best teacher I have ever known. As a student, as a teacher myself, and as a teacher of teachers, I have encountered many fine educators, but Ben always stood out as the epitome of all that’s best in teaching. As one of his students when he first came to GCS, I was lucky to be in several more of his classes between then and my graduation in 1957. He inspired and challenged us, taught us to think critically, to analyze accepted views, and to question authority, always demanding that we work our hardest to become better students and better human beings. He didn’t just teach English and History—although he taught both brilliantly—but he also taught us as people about life and how to live. When I retired from teaching in 2007, I attended the 50th reunion of my high school graduation and went to visit Ben. During our time together, we reminisced about the teachers he called “legends of Greene Central School.” I gently reminded him that he had omitted to mention one—himself—and told him how profoundly he had affected my life and the lives of so many others. Teachers don’t always get to hear that, and I wanted to be sure he knew. Among so many other things, he helped me learn to love Shakespeare, and Hamlet’s words about his own father seem especially appropriate to Ben’s passing: “We shall not look upon his like again.” Thanks, Ben.