GOCC’s First Counselor’s Impact Remembered Today by Students & Coworkers
Longtime ĚÇĐÄVlog counselor and psychology professor Richard Schlimgen, who passed away on October 13, 2025, is remembered for his care for students and his ability to bring out the best in them.
“He mostly enjoyed being able to help students, to sit there talking with them,” his stepson Tony Mercer said. “Some students came in with more than scheduling issues – they had life-type issues, and he would help people with their problems.”
Initially from South Dakota, Schlimgen graduated from the University of South Dakota and taught psychology and counseling at Estherville Junior College in Estherville, Iowa. However, he decided he preferred a smaller school, one where he could develop closer relationships in his counseling. He felt the individual attention the Glen Oaks student received was becoming harder and harder to find.
Hired on in April 1967 as a counselor and instructor of education and psychology, he got in on the ground floor of St. Joseph County’s newest institution of higher learning.
According to an article by then-Glen Oaks president Dr. Philip Ward that appeared in the Sturgis Journal, Schlimgen said “There is an irreplaceable excitement to being part of a school which is doing everything for the first time.”
He immediately endeared himself to the campus community, and in May 1968 was elected as the first vice president of the Faculty Senate.
“Dick was a caring person,” said Glen Oaks library technician Judy Fetch. “He believed in Glen Oaks and felt he was making a difference in the students who came here – counseling students into making good choices in classes and life experiences.”
According to Ward’s article, Schlimgen enjoyed counseling at Glen Oaks because “I get to see the rapid development and change in a large number of people from all walks of life with all kinds of goals. Nothing is more satisfying than watching people grow and develop in a positive way and feeling that you are a part of it.”
Having fellow counselor Dick Cripe – whom Mercer called Schlimgen’s “best pal” – by his side multiplied his effectiveness, and for many years the pair also offered free counseling assistance to any residents of St. Joseph County, whether they were students or not.
And then there was the day that Marilyn (Goode) Mercer walked into Schlimgen’s office. It only took one or two sessions before he referred her to another counselor and asked her on a date. They married in December 1978 and shared nearly four and a half decades before her passing in May 2022.
Schlimgen retired from full-time counseling in April 1998, but continued on for a few more years doing part-time work.
“Generations of Glen Oaks students were lucky they found Dick Schlimgen behind that counseling desk – myself included,” said Glen Oaks communications professor Michelle McNamara, who knew him first as one of her academic advisors at Glen Oaks, and later as a colleague and friend. “He and Dick Cripe worked together for decades to ensure students from all over the area signed up for classes they wanted and needed.
“I remember Mr. Schlimgen as being an amazing listener – always hearing what I had to say about the classes I wanted and also hearing the things that I did not say – like which classes would really push me out of my comfort zone and help me along my path to becoming an educator.”
“Dick Schlimgen’s advice influenced many of us,” adds 1973 grad Mary Fair Dechow. “In his 30 plus years at GOCC, he assisted thousands of students through his counseling and his classes. It was wonderful to see him last year when we held a Foundation event to honor our donors. His legacy continues today.”