Dick Fetzer

Dick Fetzer is the fourth of five sons born to Dean and Cora Roan Fetzer. He grew up on a small farm in Centre County, Pennsylvania. His mother, a quiet person who listened with patience and understanding, influenced him greatly. The seeds to becoming an effective listener were sown in Dick’s life as he spent time helping his mother around the house since she was ill for much of her life. Dick earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Shippensburg University (1967) and a master’s degree in education from West Chester University (1970). He taught various elementary grade levels in the public school system for 35 years, and also coached wrestling. While in his late 20’s, two significant events had an impact on Dick’s life. The first and most important event was accepting Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. The second event occurred several months later when he attended a series of workshops at Lock Haven University. It was at one of these workshops where he was introduced to reflective listening. He sensed that God was guiding him to learn this skill, and he did so by praying, practicing diligently, and pursuing further training. After his retirement from the public school system in 2002, Dick joined the faculty at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania as an instructor in the Early Childhood and Elementary Education departments. Dick and his first wife, Sharon Tressler, raised three children—Rebecca, Richard, Jr., and Robin. They had been married for nearly 32 years when Sharon succumbed to cancer. In 1998, Dick married Joanne Freed. They are blessed to have ten grandchildren (one is in Heaven) and two great-grandchildren. In 2013, Dick retired from Lock Haven University and he and Joanne moved to South Carolina. Since 2018, they have divided their time between South Carolina and Pennsylvania. Dick enjoys taking care of his lawn and swimming one mile a day at the YMCA six days a week.

To contact the author, email him at: rfetzer103@gmail.com