W. Dean Eastman

Our co-founder W. Dean Eastman passed away in March 2025. Dean was an educational legend whose legacy lives on in the lives of the many that he taught and inspired over his long career and that continues on through this website. Conceived and inspired by Dean, PrimaryResearch.org highlights the many ways that history and the lives of everyday people can be brought to life through hands-on investigation.

Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts on February 22, 1948, Dean dedicated his life to teaching and transformed the lives of countless students. 

A lifelong student as well as teacher, Dean was a 1966 graduate of Andover High School, earned a Bachelor’s degree in social science from Drake University, a Master’s degree from Springfield College, and, in 2000, a second Masters from Harvard University.

From 1970 and 2006, Dean taught social studies at Beverly High School. He instilled high standards in his students, fueled by his own deep passion for history. He made history relevant by focusing on the lives of everyday people, reminding students that they ‘should not be forgotten.’ His classes were anything but ordinary, featuring hands-on experiences like sorting through artifacts in an archaeological pit he built in the courtyard, predawn trips to explore colonial cemeteries, and meticulous research through census records on microfilm. His innovative, hands-on teaching approach revolutionized the classroom experience, transforming history lessons into immersive adventures. He established collaborations with historical archives, libraries and museums to provide students with unique access to primary sources.  He was especially passionate about helping the underdog and going above and beyond.  He was fond of saying ‘a man never stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child’. His approach ignited a love of learning in his students, inspiring them to pursue knowledge for its own sake.

In 1989, Dean was recognized as a Massachusetts Christa McAuliffe Fellow, featured in the book I Am a Teacher, and was one of 36 educators from across the country to receive the American Teacher Award from the Disney Channel. In 1991, his work with homeless students was highlighted on NBC’s Today Show, and he made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In 1992, he hosted a ten-part series on Immigration for Massachusetts Educational Television and was featured on PBS’s Only A Teacher: A History of Teaching in America. 

His teaching career was marked by many other awards and honors. He was selected as one of the Outstanding Young Men of America by the National Junior Chamber of Commerce, served as a grant reader/evaluator for the Commission of the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, and was honored with the John F. Kennedy Presidential Award for “Outstanding Teacher on the Theme of the American Presidency.” In 2000, he was elected a Permanent Resident Fellow at the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Colonial Society of Massachusetts. Further accolades included receiving Harvard University’s Derek Bok Prize for Public Service (2000), being named the first annual Preserve America Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year (2004), and receiving the Prince Saunders Education Award from the National Park Service (2005). In 2018, he received the Nelson Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award.

He was a member of the National Association of Scholars, the Harvard Club, and the New England Society in New York City.

Dean was a proud alumnus of Drake University.  In 1991 he received the Drake Alumni Achievement Award, and in 2013 he was inducted into the Dignatus Society at Drake.

While at Springfield College he served as a track and field coach, mentoring eight Division 2 NCAA Track and Field All-Americans. Dean also served as a Good Will Ambassador for the United States Department of State, coaching track and field in Mexico.

In 2012, Dean married Syhia Wriedt. They lived in Vero Beach, Florida, and his long-time home of Andover, Massachusetts, splitting their time between the two. 

Dean was committed to civic virtue both inside and outside the classroom. He was a prolific member of several historical and civic organizations, including serving on the educational steering committee of the Massachusetts Civil Liberties Union, the PBS Teaching Advisory Board, and the Committee for the Administration of Adams Family Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society.  He was the contributor of the Nathan Dane biography in the Yale Biographical Dictionary of American Law and co-authored numerous scholarly articles. 

In retirement Dean initiated a number of philanthropic efforts through his charitable foundation, including the Dean and Sy Eastman Student Research Fellowship at the Lawrence History Center, the Eastman Undergraduate Residency Program at the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the Eastman Family Collection at the Addison Gallery of Art, a growing collection of Vivian Maier photographs. 

Dean enjoyed fishing throughout his life, having spent childhood summers on York Beach.  He was an avid fan of Harvard football, the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots.  

He was a dedicated son to his mother Hariet who passed away in 2007, as well as his father Weston D. Eastman, who died in 2001.  He authored Strictly Scuttlebutt; From Ivory Halls to Duty Calls, chronicling his father’s World War II memoirs.

To his friends and family, Dean was dedicated and loyal to the end. He remained close with classmates from high school, college and teaching colleagues.

Dean had a sharp wit and a memory like a steel trap.  He rarely forgot a name, and would often relate stories of growing up in Lawrence or teaching in Beverly Public Schools with remarkable detail. 

His students will not forget him either.  He had a larger than life personality and a way of bringing out the best in others.  Dean’s legacy lives on in the countless students he inspired, the educators he mentored, and the resources he created including primaryresearch.org, which continues to be a valuable resource for local history studies.  He leaves behind a profound impact on the field of education and a lasting contribution to the preservation and understanding of history. He will be deeply missed by his family, friends, colleagues, and all who were touched by his dedication to teaching, learning, and living a life to its fullest.