Samuel Charles Scher

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Scher, Samuel Charles Died peacefully June 3, 2014 in St. Paul, MN surrounded by family and friends. Born in San Antonio, TX in 1927 to Joseph and Jenny (Harris) Scher. He was raised in St. Louis, MO. He earned degrees from St. Louis Univ., Univ. of MO, earning his PhD in Clinical Psychology from Univ. of Houston in 1955. In 1956 He began his career in clinical psychology in the Twin Cities. He later joined the Hamm Clinic, where he created a program to mentor young professionals. In 1968, he began his successful private practice, retiring in 2011. His lifelong passion was bringing mental health access to people in need. Sam was highly regarded as a leader and mentor in the psychology field. To many in his profession, he was considered the grandfather of psychology in Minnesota. In- fluencing legislation, licensing, mentoring, education, training and more. He served for many years in the leadership of the MPA and MGPA. He was a founder of innovative services for troubled youth, including: Walk In Counseling Center, Youth Emergency Ser- vices, Pooneil Corner, and Bridge for Youth. He helped create the American Red Cross Mental Health Stress Team. He consulted at Hazelden, the VA, Hastings State Hospital, and St. Mary's Hospital. He taught at the Univ. of MN, Hamline Univ, Macalester College, Augsburg College, and co-founded the Psychotherapy Training Institute in 1984. He will be greatly missed by his nine children, their spouses and twenty grandchildren. And, by the many people who enjoyed his warmth, humor, wisdom and welcoming home. He was preceded in death by his wife of 48 years, Mary Grace Scher (Kane). A special thank you to the staff at The Alton Memory Care for providing a supportive, caring and respectful home. In lieu of gifts and flowers, do-nations may be made to the American Alzheimer's Assoc. or the American Red Cross. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm on Sunday, June 8th at the McNamara Alumni Center, U of MN, 200 Oak St. S.E.

Published on June 8, 2014