After twenty-five years of dedicated teaching, Mr. Liapes said his final goodbye to West Milford High School in 2012. Mr. Liapes taught both US History for college prep and B level. In addition to this, Mr. Liapes taught Western Civilization Honors. Co-workers describe Mr. Liapes as knowledgeable and an expert in the subject of history. Mr. Lacroix said, “In my 17 years of teaching at this high school, he is the person I would say who had the greatest depth of historical knowledge.”

            When Mr. Sheremeta was asked about Mr. Liapes, he immediately had many memories to share about the retired teacher. Mr. Sheremeta and Mr. Liapes carpooled to school everyday for twenty-two years. On the way to the high school they would stop at Dunkin Donuts every morning to get coffee and something to eat. When the price for the drinks popped up on the screen, Mr. Liapes always pulled from his memory and shared an important date in history that went with the price.

            When asked to describe Mr. Liapes’s persona in one word Mr. Sheremeta came up with “All-knowing.” He then changed it to, “Mr. Knowledge.” Mr. Matlosz’s one word was “Kind.” “Brilliant” Is the word Mr. Lacroix chose and Mr. Bialkin selected “Historian!”

            Something consistent throughout all the things that Mr. Liapes’s coworkers had to say about him was that he was incredible, and a master in the subject of history. “I realized at that moment that I knew nothing compared to this man! Very humbling…” Mr. Lacroix shared. Mr. Matlosz added, “You could always depend on Mr. Liapes for historical background knowledge.”

            “I consider Pete a friend and a member of the West Milford History dept. family. We miss him here.” Mr. Lacroix said. Mr. Matlosz explained this perfectly, when adding, “He will be missed for his passion of history and sharing that passion with his students and colleagues.”