Published: October 02, 2008 11:48 am         

Marvin Riegsecker will be missed

Elkhart County — and Indiana, for that matter — mourns the death of state Sen. Marvin Riegsecker.

Riegsecker died Tuesday of cancer at age 71.

He will be missed by not only his friends and family but by his constituents. Riegsecker was smart, friendly and we believe someone who truly cared about his community and the people in it — especially some of the most at-risk residents, people with disabilities.

In his 20 years in the state Senate, Riegsecker was always on the side of those with developmental disabilities, getting legislation passed for more funding and more services to the agencies who serve them. And his advocacy didn’t stop at legislation — the disabled knew his face from visiting with him, and vice versa.

Riegsecker also worked to protect consumers from counterfeit prescription drugs — something he knew about first-hand since he was a career pharmacist.

But Riegsecker was more than a politician. He was a regular, everyday Joe with a job, a wife, kids and grandkids.

He was an integral part of the Goshen and Elkhart County community. Riegsecker grew up in Goshen. He had a lot of longtime friends and colleagues here. And even though Riegsecker was influential, he never lost sight of his roots or his ultimate mission to serve the people.

And what he did, something that sometimes gets lost in politics, is bring all of that everyman experience, all of that family and friendship and all of that compassion to the tables of the state Legislature.

Part of Riegsecker’s appeal, and why he kept winning his Senate seat, was his approachability and genuiness.

We in the media could call Riegsecker at any time and talk with him about any issue, even the controversial switch to daylight-saving time. He was also always welcome at The Goshen News. If Riegsecker had a matter he wanted to talk about, he would stop in, smile, greet everyone and get down to business. Even when he was ill, he stopped in to let us know about his illness and of his future plans to retire from politics.

We feel fortunate to have known him.

Marvin Riegsecker will be sorely missed, and whoever takes his Senate seat will always have a large shadow looming over them.

As Elkhart County Auditor Dave Hess so aptly said, “We’ve lost a real champion for Elkhart County.”