WAVERLY -- As a college student, he couldn't decide whether to be a counselor, pastor or professor. Turns out, the Rev. Larry Trachte became all three during his 35-year career at Wartburg College, often in the course of a single day.

Trachte has served as campus pastor and assistant professor of religion since 1974. He will retire as college chaplain at the end of the school year.

Trachte plans to officiate a few summer weddings and committed to teaching two courses at Wartburg next year. However, the tall, rosy-cheeked figure is taking a definitive step down from full-time pastoral ministry.

The rigorous schedule is catching up with him, he says, and it's time to make more time for other priorities, like family, travel and that ongoing house project 10 years in the making.

"I want to quit while I can still play," Trachte said.

"There's so many things I want to do with my life yet."

William Hamm, interim president at Wartburg, said Trachte made a significant impact on the lives of many young people as both a pastor and teacher. Hamm and Trachte met as history majors at the college, lived in the same off-campus housing unit and graduated together in 1966.

"I think it's safe to say no other single person has had so much influence on so many students over so long a period of time," Hamm said. "It's really been an extraordinary ministry."

Trachte came to Wartburg from Wisconsin. He earned a master of divinity degree from Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque and served four years at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Waverly.

Trachte was on a search committee to find a chaplain for Wartburg when someone asked him to become a candidate.

The German-speaking Lutheran with traditional leanings wasn't convinced he was campus pastor material.

"I don't have long hair … I don't play guitar," Trachte quips.

To his surprise, Trachte found campus ministry at Wartburg offered a perfect blend of faith, teaching and learning. The academic environment appealed to his zest for intellectual discovery, and the Lutheran college offered values-based education with an emphasis on service.

As campus pastor, Trachte came to view the college years as some of the most important.

"In so many ways, they are formative of the rest of the students' lives," he said.

"Simply put, I've come to believe in what we do," he added.

Trachte spent 35 years "helping people listen for God's grace" and exemplifying it in his own life, said Ramona Bouzard, director of church relations and associate in campus ministry at Wartburg.

"He's always been a huge student advocate," she added.

Trachte participates and supports without taking over, not in the background, but also not at center stage.

"Present but not overbearing," Bouzard said.

Trachte is also apparently willing to talk about his perceived faults. One Trachte sermon highlighted his tendency to procrastinate and the lessons and regrets that come with the habit. He also likes to talk about grace and thinks the theme, a critical concept in Lutheran theology, is particularly relevant to college students.

"They are all struggling with 'I'm not as good as I ought to be,'" he said.

Kahri Heinemann, a junior at Wartburg, sees Trachte as a perpetually friendly, upbeat and enthusiastic figure. She is taking a course he teaches.

"He's always, like, smiling and energetic and excited to help you and talk about things," Heinemann said.

Trachte is prone to telling stories but also makes sure students have their own experiences, said Steve Biedermann, a religion major. The senior was impressed when Trachte's class on cults included field trips to meet members of the religious groups.

Trachte values interactions with students. After years on the job, he said expects a bout of depression after each graduation.

Traveling abroad with students tops Trachte's list of favorites as a college chaplain. Watching young adults discover monuments and historic cities for the first time rivals the sites themselves.

"It's just exciting to me to see the world open up to students," he said.

Trachte's circle of influence extends beyond Wartburg's campus. Trachte has filled in at St. John Lutheran Church-Bennington in Black Hawk County on occasion, says the congregation's pastor, the Rev. Bill Thalacker.

Trachte relates well to college students, and people of all ages, Thalacker said, because he understands the value of listening. He is smart, experienced, yet accessible.

"He's kind of an old shoe," Thalacker said. "Comfortable."

Ron Matthias, Trachte's former history professor and a retired administrator at the college, served on the search committee that ended up inviting the young pastor to Wartburg. Matthias hasn't been disappointed.

"I think what has impressed me as much as anything is his intelligence, you know, I think his continual good sense," Matthias said.

"He has the heart of a pastor and I think that, perhaps more than anything, has been the source of his strength in that roll at Wartburg College."

Contact Karen Heinselman at (319) 291-1581 or karen.heinselman@wcfcourier.com.