Paul Tschudi, a George Washington University professor and Vietnam veteran, is being remembered after he died in a fire in his Northeast D.C. home on Wednesday.
Tschudi, 73, was a longtime faculty member and alumnus of George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development.
“In addition to his work with the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and GW Nursing, Paul was the founding director of the Grief, Loss and Life Transitions graduate certificate, as well as assistant professor in Health Sciences at the GW Graduate School of Education and Human Development,” according to a university spokesperson.
He also taught courses in grief and loss, and consulted with universities on developing curriculum in end-of-life care fields, the spokesperson said.
George Washington University said Tschudi was a sought-after speaker on issues of grief, loss and life transition. The Vietnam veteran “contributed extensively to the lives of veterans transitioning to civilian life, including GW students” as well.
The university spokesperson said Tschudi was a “caring, kind and generous colleague and friend who will be truly missed.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Cristina Garcia, who told NBC Washington that she met Tschudi at George Washington University in 1986.
“He was a wonderful, kind, giving person,” Garcia said.
She and her husband paid their respects at a small memorial of flowers and pictures in front of Tschudi’s Brookland home on Thursday.
“I love him, and he will be my forever best friend,” Garcia said.
Tschudi had served as director of the St. Francis Center from 1993 to 1997, according to his LinkedIn profile. The nonprofit, which offers counseling and therapy programs, changed its name to the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing in 1999.
