Reisch, 49, loses battle against throat cancer
Kat Timpf
Issue date: 12/4/08 Section: News
It will be a lot quieter in Delp Hall without Terry Reisch.
The 49-year-old Professor of German with a mischievous streak used to play German rap music in his office early in the morning "to annoy the professor on the floor below," said sophomore and German student Calvin Freiburger.
Reisch died Nov. 21 after battling throat cancer since September. He died at home under hospice care, surrounded by family and friends.
He began working in the German department at Hillsdale College in 1988.
Reisch was born Oct. 1, 1959, in Reading, Penn., according to an obituary published in the Hillsdale Daily News. He attended Wilson High School in West Lawn, Penn., where friend David Patti said he was involved in everything from cross country to theater.
"He was a jock, he was part of the theater crowd, he was part of the language crowd and he was in all the gifted classes and he goofed off in everything because he didn't have to work that hard to still be the best… you could really hate the guy if you wanted to," Patti said with a laugh. "He was not only good but exquisite at everything."
Reisch and Patti later went to college together at Millersville State University, where Reisch earned his B.S in Education in German and French in 1981, according to Jones' obituary. They later joined the same honorary fraternity, Phi Sigma Pi, and became roommates.
Patti said he recently talked to another fraternity brother, and the two decided that, "Boy, we know a lot of smart people but there was never anybody who was even close to Terry."
"He knew everything," Patti said. "Including every comedy routine and the voices to go with it."
Patti recounted some of Reisch's college antics in a follow-up e-mail to The Collegian, such as Reisch dressing as an elf and playing harmonica for a Christmas event to benefit mentally handicapped children.
"He only knew Bob Dylan and Neil Young … but he could improvise a little," Patti said. "Two of the young [women] were smitten … [but] he very kindly and very patiently explained he was saving himself for marriage and giving serious consideration to the priesthood."
The 49-year-old Professor of German with a mischievous streak used to play German rap music in his office early in the morning "to annoy the professor on the floor below," said sophomore and German student Calvin Freiburger.
Reisch died Nov. 21 after battling throat cancer since September. He died at home under hospice care, surrounded by family and friends.
He began working in the German department at Hillsdale College in 1988.
Reisch was born Oct. 1, 1959, in Reading, Penn., according to an obituary published in the Hillsdale Daily News. He attended Wilson High School in West Lawn, Penn., where friend David Patti said he was involved in everything from cross country to theater.
"He was a jock, he was part of the theater crowd, he was part of the language crowd and he was in all the gifted classes and he goofed off in everything because he didn't have to work that hard to still be the best… you could really hate the guy if you wanted to," Patti said with a laugh. "He was not only good but exquisite at everything."
Reisch and Patti later went to college together at Millersville State University, where Reisch earned his B.S in Education in German and French in 1981, according to Jones' obituary. They later joined the same honorary fraternity, Phi Sigma Pi, and became roommates.
Patti said he recently talked to another fraternity brother, and the two decided that, "Boy, we know a lot of smart people but there was never anybody who was even close to Terry."
"He knew everything," Patti said. "Including every comedy routine and the voices to go with it."
Patti recounted some of Reisch's college antics in a follow-up e-mail to The Collegian, such as Reisch dressing as an elf and playing harmonica for a Christmas event to benefit mentally handicapped children.
"He only knew Bob Dylan and Neil Young … but he could improvise a little," Patti said. "Two of the young [women] were smitten … [but] he very kindly and very patiently explained he was saving himself for marriage and giving serious consideration to the priesthood."
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