Sixth Annual Grief Seminar

Rex and Nancy Gleim

Rex and Nancy Gleim are retired educators—together having served a total of 60 years; Rex 40 years with the Elkhart schools and Nancy 20—most of which were with the Middlebury schools. Several years after the death of their son Ryan, they, along with Don and Eunice Munn founded Ryan’s Place, A Center for Grieving Children and Teens. They are the proud grandparents of two—Brendan, age five, Drew, age two, and anticipate the arrival of a third grandchild in December—all children of their son Damon and wife Beth.

When a friend of theirs commented after Ryan’s death that she knew exactly how they felt since her 92 year old mother had died three weeks earlier, they knew that people around them had no clue what they were going through. The Gleims knew they had to educate people on how to better understand grief issues. The gist of their presentation will be “I Know Exactly How You Feel,” a well meaning, but completely obtuse statement.

They are co-founders of the Goshen Area Chapter of The Compassionate Friends, an international support group for parents who have had a child die. They are active members of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Middlebury and are also on the steering committee of the annual Middlebury Fall Festival.

Seminar Presenters

“Grief: First Things First” - Agnes Griffey, MSM, MAPT Candidate Director, Life Line Cord Blood/Donor Services of Indiana. In addition to her work with Life Line, Agnes co-facilitates a hospital-based perinatal loss support group. She is also the past Executive Director for Erin’s House for Grieving Children in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

“Grief in the Workplace” - Laura Happ, MA, LCSW, Clinical Mental Health Care Manager for New Avenues in South Bend, Indiana. Laura has over 23 years of experience in the treatment of substance abuse and working with employee assistance programs. She also serves on disaster preparedness teams for the State of Indiana and for St. Joseph County.

“Cultural Variations in Mourning” - Carol Jarvis, MSW, LCSW, Ph.D. Candidate, is Adjunct Associate Professor of Social Work at Goshen College and Adjunct Lecturer in Women’s Studies at IUSB. In addition, she is a clinical social worker in private practice in Goshen, Indiana.

“Art Therapy” - David Labrum, MFA, MA, Licensed Mental Health Counselor with the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care, South Bend, Indiana. David has combined his experience as a visual artist with that of a counselor to create numerous counseling programs over the past 20 years. He is the author of The Hole in Me since the Day you Died.

“Play Therapy Techniques for Grief, Loss, & Trauma” - Jennifer Miller, MSW, LCSW, is a clinical social worker in private practice who specializes in the treatment of young children and their families. Jennifer has over 15 years of experience and expertise in play therapy and treatment of grief and trauma.

“Complicated Grief” - Rick Ritter, MSW, LCSW, CT. Rick is a private practitioner in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, who specializes in the areas of trauma, grief, loss, disability and interpersonal violence. With extensive experience in the field of mental health, Rick is also the author of Coping with Physical Loss and Disability.

“Healing Together–How to Start a Support Group” - Katharine E. Schrock, MSW, LCSW, Katharine Schrock Counseling, P.C., is a graduate of Indiana University, BA in Psychology & a MSW in Clinical Social Work. Katharine has over 20 years experience in mental health and is currently in private practice in Goshen, Indiana.