Longtime Fenwick High educator Richard Borsch is remembered as "the best in Catholic high school faculty." | pixabay
Longtime Fenwick High educator Richard Borsch is remembered as "the best in Catholic high school faculty." | pixabay
Longtime educator Richard A. Borsch, 79, of Elmwood Park died June 14.
Borsch was married to Karen, and was a father and grandfather.
The longtime director of college counseling at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois, he spent 52 years guiding and mentoring students and athletes, touching the lives of individuals in the Fenwick community and beyond. He earned a bachelor of arts in English literature from DePaul University and an MAS from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota in counseling and psychological services.
Borsch was an award-winning faculty member and served on the counselor advisory boards of Seton Hall University and the University of Illinois.
“Rich Borsch and his wonderful wife deserved and got my admiration and profound respect over 40 years," said Father Robert Carroll of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. “I was a weekend mass celebrant at St Thomas More Parish and as the principal of Mt. Carmel High School. I saw him on Sundays and special occasions.
"We would meet intermittently and talk shop and all. What a beautiful and happy person to do what he did with such finesse at Fenwick over the years. He personified the best in Catholic high school faculty and was a model professional precisely because he saw in each and every person something of value and dignity.”
A former student named Jenny also left a remembrance of Borsch.
“I made a choice to not go to a "normal" college," she wrote. "It freaked me out to make this decision, and Mr. Borsch very honestly supported me enough that it made me feel it was the right decision. It was. In a time when I didn't feel very supported for my weird choices, he came out of the blue. As a high school student, when many adults aren't being very honest with you, he truly was. I was so lucky we had that one conversation and I think of it often.”
A celebration of Borsch's life will be announced at a later date. Interment will be private. Family members suggest memorials to Shriners Hospitals for Children in Borsch's name instead of flowers.
Individuals who would like to share memories of Borsch can do so at the Life Tributes page at https://www.morizzofuneralhome.com/obituaries/Richard-Borsch/#!/TributeWall
Arrangements were by Morizzo Funeral Home in Hoffman Estates.
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