Russel A. Liechty

Russel Liechty, Dean of Students Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Education who worked and taught at Goshen College for 38 years, died at home in Goshen on January 13. He was 90.

Russel Allen Liechty was born on a farm near Pettisville, Ohio on Dec. 15, 1930, the last of nine children of Joseph and Emma (Frey) Liechty. The Liechty family belonged to West Clinton Mennonite Church, which nurtured Russ in the Christian faith that would undergird his life. Another early influence was helping out in his father’s auto and farm equipment business in Archbold, where he acquired skills as a mechanic and a passion for vehicles which he pursued as a hobby, restoring numerous cars, trucks, and tractors through his lifetime. After graduating from Pettisville High School in 1948, he attended Goshen College where he studied sociology and met his future wife, Marjorie Schertz. Russ and Marge were married in 1953 and Russ accepted an invitation to serve as Assistant Dean of Men at Goshen College. In 1954 the couple had their first son, Joe, and in 1957 moved to Columbus, Ohio where their daughter Jane was born and where Russ earned a master’s degree in counseling from Ohio State University in 1959. Returning to Goshen, the couple had their third child, Mark, before moving again, this time to Madison, Wisconsin. There Russ earned a PhD in counseling and behavioral studies from the University of Wisconsin and the family added its fourth child, Dan, both in 1964.

Returning to Goshen College in 1964, Liechty served as Dean of Students until 1978 when he became Director of Counseling, a role that allowed him to fully engage his training, skills and personal commitment to serving students. Hundreds of Goshen College graduates remember him as a trusted listener and advisor.

During their Goshen College years Russ and Marge also undertook numerous international assignments. In what became a defining family experience, the Liechtys spent a sabbatical year (1969-70) at Woodstock School in Mussoorie, India, where Russ served as counselor and the entire family established strong ties to South Asia that have persisted across generations. Russ and Marge led two Study-Service Term units for Goshen College: in Belize (summer 1974) and China (fall 1983). In 1977-78, and again in 1985-86, Russ and Marge returned to South Asia where they served with the United Mission to Nepal. Working as a team, they walked hundreds of miles of mountain trails to provide counseling services to Mission workers in far-flung locations, establishing close friendships with Nepalis and people from around the world.

For decades Russ and Marge were also known for the hospitality they extended to Goshen College students, especially international and third-culture students who enjoyed countless meals, ice cream parties, and fireside gatherings in the Liechty home. Members of College Mennonite Church their entire adult lives, Russ and Marge taught and coordinated the CMC college-age Sunday School class for almost forty years. Russ and Marge also provided a home for students attending Bethany Christian School and coordinated the Friendship Family Program for the college’s international students.

“Russ had a quiet grace and a sincere personal interest in students,” said Vic Stoltzfus, former Goshen College president. “In retirement, he, with his wife Marge, were pioneer founders of the International Student Ministry Group [at College Mennonite Church]. He and Marge supported international students through social times, meals, and even responded to medical needs. He was a beloved servant leader.”

After Russ’ retirement in 1993 the couple took up what they sometimes described as their most challenging and rewarding assignment, at the Chicago Mennonite Learning Center where, with Marge’s active partnership, Russ volunteered as principal from 1993-96. Returning to a new, smaller home in Goshen, Russ and Marge continued to relate to GC students, resuming their engagement with the college-age Sunday School class at College Mennonite Church, and helping to promote and coordinate scholarship funding for international students. Retirement also provided time for Russ to devote to other passions including restoring antique vehicles. Among them was a 1919 Dodge Brothers Touring car that, over almost fifty years, Russ painstakingly disassembled and restored to pristine condition. Also notable was a lovingly restored 1947 Dodge semi truck tractor, like one he had driven as a boy in Ohio, which Russ loved to drive in Goshen parades.

Russ also enjoyed gardening and yard work which (with Marge) he pursued with the same level of perfectionism as his vehicles. (One of his brothers once jokingly condemned Russ’ horticultural skills by noting that not even a weed would grow in his garden!)

With Marge, Russ also enjoyed travel, often combining trips to historic locations with visits to their children and grandchildren as well as their many nieces, nephews, cousins, and old friends spread around the country and the world. Their work to maintain family linkages and friendships was much appreciated, and will be sincerely missed by many.

Russ Liechty is survived by his wife Marjorie; four children and their spouses: Joseph and Linda of Goshen, Indiana, Jane and Wayne Fisher of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Mark and Laura (Hostetler) of Oak Park, Illinois, and Daniel and Jill Koop Liechty of Goshen, Indiana; eight grandchildren: Anna Sawatsky (Joe), Aaron Liechty (Kelli Kol), Jacob Curtis (Michelle), Matthew Fisher (Sinett Sun), Naomi Liechty, and Emma, Elsie, and Cormac Koop Liechty; six great grandchildren: Isaac, Moses, Levi, and Jesse Sawatsky, and Fionn and Aislinn Liechty; and two sisters-in-law: Loveda Liechty and Treva Liechty.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the International Student Ministry Group at College Mennonite Church. Checks made payable to CMC can be sent to College Mennonite Church, 1900 S Main Street, Goshen, IN. 46526. Please note "Russ Liechty Memorial" on your check. Online gifts can be made at https://collegemennonite.org/give/ (choose Special Funds and International Student Aid, “memorial” on memo line).

Due to public health concerns, a closed service will be held for the immediate family. An open memorial service will be planned for a later date, when family and friends can safely gather.