Zwergel, Eberhard Edmund

Eberhard Edmund Zwergel, a man who cherished both peace and orchestrating dazzling chemical reactions, said, “macht’s gut!” to this life on February 10, 2024 in Wilmette, Illinois. A Senior Chemistry Lecture Demonstrator at Northwestern University, Eberhard sparked a sense of wonder and awe in the hearts of chemistry students. His unique skill of combining art and science to create spectacles made him a small-town celebrity. The legendary standing-room-only Halloween chemistry shows that he hosted, accompanied by talent from the entire NU community, can still be viewed on YouTube. Eberhard’s remaining question to his students is: “why isn’t it on fire?” Born in Fulda, Germany, Eberhard came to the United States to study at Johns Hopkins University. It was there in Baltimore, Maryland that he met the love of his life, Rita Clare Gremelspacher. He and Rita married and later moved to Evanston, Illinois with their three children Franz, Thomas, and Catherine. Rita passed away after a long courageous battle with cancer, leaving Eberhard and the siblings to create a deeper lifelong bond and inseparable loving relationships. Eberhard married his beloved second wife Cindy Ensor in 2018, with whom he shared many happy adventures. He will be remembered and loved by his children for his haphazard radio mix-tapes, peaceful summer moments on their screened-in porch, masterful culinary skills, and love of soccer, which brought out his classic German phrases and colorful “schimpfwörter.” Eberhard is survived by his wife Cindy Ensor and his children, Franz Zwergel (Nancy Parnell), Thomas Zwergel (Tracy Walsh, Honor and Echo Allen), Catherine Zwergel (Ben Alsip), and nephew and godson Bernhard Zwergel (Michaela, Lorenz). In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Clark Street Beach Bird Sanctuary in Evanston. It brought Eberhard peace to watch the birds and listen to them sing, and we hope that donations made in his honor can provide the same peace to the community for generations to come. A celebration of life will be hosted by his children this Spring; details to follow, Mensch!