The DEKE Quarterly Vol.141, No.2

THE QUARTERLY DEKE

THE EXPEDITIONS ISSUE

PEARY DISCOVERS THE NORTH POLE TWO DEKES TAKE ANTARCTICA

Dear Brothers and Friends,

We are pleased to deliver this spring edition of the DEKE Quarterly. I hope you enjoy it.

The lead article in this quarterly covers some epic adventures. Quests like Brother Peary’s seem almost impossible to contemplate from the comfort of our coddled modernity. There is much to contrast. First, the amount of certainty with which we operate. Before we even commit to any destination or adventure (be it a summer vacation or a trip to a grocery store) we want to know everything about where we are going. We must be assured by the latest 83 reviews and tips from previous visitors. We certainly can not be caught off guard, unprepared, or God forbid fail to optimize every step we take. Once underway, responsibility for navigation and general orientation is completely subrogated to a fleet of web and satellite linked applications. Small screens and confident little voices guide our every move. The other morning, I was looking at a troupe of preschoolers walking in a line, holding a common length of rope. They seemed to have about the same level of agency over their travels as the average motorist. Are we really better off and more evolved in this regard?

I may have digressed here, just a bit.

I’m not sure what would be considered our modern equivalent to uncharted expeditions such as Robert Peary’s. Whatever they may be, there are two critical takeaways for me. Regardless of how impossibly daunting it may be to locate and get to your “North Pole,” it’s not really worth much, unless you can make it back. Getting there isn’t enough. And, like Alan Bean and several others, the fraternity mattered so much to Brother Peary, that he brought the DKE flag with him on his expedition. The fraternity had to participate in his triumph.

So, I’m thinking that on my next outing, I won’t over plan, maybe risk getting lost, make sure I can get home and possibly raise the rampant lion banner, even if only in the supermarket parking lot.

In the Bonds,

Mason Morjikian  Chairman of the Board Lambda-Kenyon ‘88

PUBLISHED BY

Delta Kappa Epsilon International

6921 Jackson Rd., Suite 400

Ann Arbor, MI 48103

(734) 302-4210

www.dke.org

ΔKE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mason Morjikian, Lambda ‘88, Chairman

Neilson Brown, Beta ‘67, Vice Chairman

David Helverson, Delta Pi ‘81, Treasurer

Grant Burnyeat, Phi Alpha ‘65, Honorary President

Cory Crenshaw, Tau Lambda ‘01

Christian Cummings, Epsilon Rho ‘18

Mike DeLisi, Rho ‘03

Semmes Favrot, Psi ‘82

Ray Reynolds Graves, Alpha Chi ‘67

Ron Li, Phi Alpha ‘10

Stanford McMillan, Gamma ‘89

John McNeil, Psi ‘79

Kevin O’Bryon, Tau Lambda ‘77

Terry Stewart, Phi Chi ‘69

John Yerger, Delta Chi ‘82

ΔKE HQ STAFF

Executive Director: Doug Lanpher, Gamma ‘77

Director of Member Services: Trey Robb, M.Ed.

Director of Alumni Services and Marketing: Craig Dick, Phi Alpha ‘16

Director of Administrative Services: Turner Spears, Lambda Tau ‘16

Associate Director for Chapter Resources: Dustin Stewart

Assistant Director of Chapter Services: Morgan McElroy, Phi Epsilon ‘21

Archivist & Historian: Grant Burnyeat, Phi Alpha ‘65

Chapter Consultant: Taft Peck, Delta ‘22

Chapter Consultant: Tim Treffery, Zeta Theta ‘22

Marketing Coordinator: Carter Nolan, Delta Tau ‘23

DEKE QUARTERLY STAFF

Publisher: Doug Lanpher, Gamma ‘77

Editor: Kevin Cuneo, Gamma ‘77

Assistant Editor: Michael E. Hilts, Gamma ‘76

Production Editor: Jeff Hamilton Gamma ‘78

CREATIVE DIRECTION & DESIGN: Scott-Goodman Associates

Lester Goodman • lestergcreative.com

Barbara Scott-Goodman • barbarascottgoodman.net

THE DEKE QUARTERLY is published by Delta Kappa Epsilon in Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer.

DIGITAL VERSIONS: https://issuu.com/dkequarterly

POSTMASTER: Send address changes & correspondence to: DEKE Quarterly, 6921 Jackson Rd., Suite 400, Ann Arbor, MI 48103

Manuscripts, literature, and letters should be addressed to the Editor. Submissions will not be returned.

For change of address please contact ΔKE HQ and provide Full Name, Chapter, both old and new address.

DEKE NEWS

anywhere. The 1854 rebuild was necessary after a fire destroyed the original structure.

In late March, the Pentagon announced Lt. Gen. Michael Cederholm, Gamma Phi-Wesleyan ’88, as the new commanding general of I Marine Expeditionary Force, one of three main Marine Corps forces. Nominated by President Biden earlier in March, Lt. Gen. Cederholm steps into the new role from Deputy Commandant for Aviation, a role he’s filled since July 2022. Brother Cederholm was born at Camp Lejeune, the son of a Marine Corps helicopter pilot. After earning his bachelor’s in international politics, Cederholm trained as an aviator and has flown every operational aircraft model in the Corps’ air fleet. I Marine Expeditionary Force, headquartered in Camp Pendleton, Calif., has 53,000 Marines and sailors across four principal bases.

Lambda-Kenyon Plans Land Purchase for Lodge

Alumni of the Lambda chapter at Kenyon College have negotiated and signed an agreement to purchase the land under and around the hallowed DKE lodge in Gambier, Ohio. This land is not only the site of the first-ever fraternity structure (1852), the “new”

lodge (1854) is still the oldest standing fraternity structure

The Lambda Alumni Association is building a new patio and firepit to the left of the stairs and the downhill back side of the existing lodge. Completion is expected before the spring semester ends— ready for next year’s recruitment and other special events.

“Only initiated Dekes are permitted admittance to the interior, so the lodge has never been available for use in recruitment. But it includes many historic artifacts dating back to our founding,” says the alumni association President Sam Adams, ’81. “With the new patio and firepit—in a beautiful setting in the woods—the exterior will be a fine venue for entertaining potential members.”

Duke of Diners Advances in New Jersey

Dekes are accustomed to telling and retelling stories of brothers achieving firsts. We celebrate firsts whether significant—like reaching the North Pole or inventing the typewriter—or simply fun and trivial. Today we celebrate a wild potential first still in the making. A Deke and his wife aim to eat in every diner in New Jersey, a.k.a. the Diner Capital of the world.

The Quarterly is pleased to report progress on this campaign, even though we were scooped in February by the New York Post, USA Today and soon after by NJ.com, the Bergen Record, and other media outlets as distant as Detroit.

When Jon Ricklin, Gamma ’79, first cooked up the scheme, he says his wife Karri ‘looked at me like I was crazy.’ Of course, she had been doing that through 30 years of marriage (at that point), and agreed, ‘It might be fun.’

In early March, the pair logged their 200th gastronomic stop—about halfway in the quest to munch out in every one of the state’s diners. They hit Metuchen Diner, where NJ.com shocked Jon with the resources sent to cover their project. “They dispatched a reporter, a photographer and a videographer to meet us – and started filming as soon as we pulled into the parking lot. It was like reality TV. They miked

me up, then captured over two hours of film. Certainly, the most pictures taken of Karri and I since our wedding.”

Jon and Karri began the mission eight years ago, notching diners and un-notching their belts, slowly at first. They accelerated their pace the past few years, then came the recent fun when they

Wesleyan Deke Named Commanding General of Marine Expeditionary Force

Top, a sketch of the original 1852 Lambda Lodge; below, the Lodge in early 2023 before exterior modifications

became media darlings. Some diner owners have taken to inviting Jon and Karri directly, knowing the spotlight could bring good P.R.

These days, adding a new location usually requires a long road trip, like the recent four-hour round-trip junket from their home in northern Bergen County to Manahawkin on the state’s eastern shore.

They’ve enjoyed a lot of tasty meals on the journey, but, as yet, brother Ricklin says, “I have yet to find a diner that can replicate Ann’s ham casserole that we gorged on at the Deke House.”

The diner visits are just a hobby, Jon claims, as he’s “far too lazy to write a blog or reviews.” Besides, he’s been a small business owner for 25plus years and wouldn’t want to take pot shots at businesses for isolated weak moments in otherwise strong endeavors.

Penn State Explores Easing Fraternity Oversight

The pendulum of universities limiting fraternity self-governance may have started its swing back, if a report from independent news organization Spotlight PA is any indication.

Following the hazing death of Timothy Piazza at a fraternity six years ago, Penn State University added a dozen-plus new regulations squeezing fraternity operations, including deferring recruitment and mandating live-in advisors. Now the university, where 44 fraterni-

Deke Shares Impact on Brothers in Wake of Michigan State Shooting

Still trying to cope and help his community heal more than a month after a gunman opened fire in two Michigan State University buildings, a Sigma Kappa Deke and journalism major, Charles Clifford wrote an article for The Spartan News Room, a newspaper of MSU’s school of journalism. Brother Clifford’s words share raw thoughts and emotions about the tragic night that killed three MSU students and injured seven others, but also “changed forever the way many of my friends and fraternity brothers lived their lives.

ties operate and as many as 20 percent of students are Greek Life members, appears ready to ease back on its heavy-handed supervision.

Spotlight PA says an internal university memo declared it is “time to recalibrate the relationships involved so the pendulum moves toward chapter self-governance, and away from University monitoring and intervention.”

Penn State has yet to publicly acknowledge changes discussed in meetings last November that included administration, Greek Life leaders, and Board of Trustee members. But the memo did identify plans “to end regular monitoring of chapter houses, allow first semester recruitment, and help Greek organizations that want to re-establish themselves at the university.” The university memo also expressed an interest in engaging student media to discuss “promoting

the strengths and benefits of Greek Life.

Emerging Leaders Institute Restarts in June

DKE International is resurrecting its Emerging Leaders Institute, the fraternity’s first such member development program in several years.

“We’re pleased to bring this important program back into the lineup of programs serving undergraduate members of Delta Kappa Epsilon,” says Dustin Stewart, Assistant Director of Projects and Programs. “We want to ensure our members have a robust learning experience as they pursue their membership in DKE.”

The event will be held as a camp-style retreat June 2-4 at Laguna Beach Christian Retreat in Florida’s panhandle city of Panama City Beach. The program aims to develop critical skills students need now as well as those useful beyond campus life. They also incorporate more intimate activities for building brotherhood and honing personal and professional skills of attendees—contrasting the chapter operations leadership of DKE Convention and Officers Academy events.

Stewart said the aim is to attract upwards of 70 delegates and at least one representative from every chapter.

Mu of DKE Scholarships Still Rising

It hasn’t been an active undergraduate chapter since 2005 but support of Colgate College from Mu chapter Dekes is as strong as ever. The Mu of DKE Foundation held a board meeting in February at the Yale Club in

Read Brother Clifford’s story HERE

Flag flown at half mast in front of MSU Union building. Photo by Guettarda.

Dustin Stewart

conjunction with its annual Winter Gathering that drew around 100 brothers and their guests. At the meeting, the board approved $35,000 in

Mu of DKE scholarship awards to Colgate undergraduate recipients. A solid round of clicks was heard following the announcement in support of

the deserving undergraduate recipients. Mu has provided over $160,000 in scholarships since 2015.

Deke Words to Live By

“Use power to help people. For we are given power not to advance our own purposes, nor to make a great show in the world, nor a name. There is but one just use of power, and it is to serve the people. “

— George W. Bush, Phi-’68, 43rd U.S. President at his inaugural address, January 1989.

Fifteen months ago, the Deke Quarterly heralded the addition of eight DKE chapters and the fraternity reaching 55 active chapters plus six associate chapters. “Getting there took fabulous support from alumni, sustaining a few disappointments, and solid planning and execution by HQ staff,” says DKE Executive Director Doug Lanpher.

Morgan McElroy, Assistant Director of Chapter Services, is guiding DKE’s current expansion efforts. He says DKE is positioning to grow in the next several years through both return agreements at schools

where DKE previously had active chapters and cultivating opportunities at many of the largest Greek Life schools. Two possible expansions brighten the horizon for the 2023-24 academic year. DKE presented its case in late April for a Delta Psi return to Indiana University, where we were last active in 2015. A strong contingent of 13 alumni have volunteered to assist return efforts,

working with an interest group of 25 men.

DKE also has a return agreement to restart its Kappa Chi chapter at University of Delaware in fall 2023, where an interest group has formed and awaits the university’s formal acceptance of our petition. Work is also underway for possible returns at Union College, Oklaho-

ma, and Maryland in the next couple of academic years, but schools like Iowa, Texas-Austin and Nebraska will take a while.

“Wait times of five years or longer for expansion slots are common in many large schools, so we’re mapping our work to seize opportunities as soon as we can,” McElroy says.

Meantime, McElroy salutes two chapter starts this year, including Alpha Gamma, an associate chapter at the U.S. Military Academy, where a group of 30 men began founding father education recently. Gamma Phi reactivated at Wesleyan with a group of 17 members this spring, wasting no time after the university removed a suspension imposed in 2021.

Mu-Colgate at Yale Club for Annual Mu Reunion Feb 2023

DKE Poised for Further Expansion

Readers Write

The Deke Quarterly welcomes readers sharing their rich tales about their own Delta Kappa Epsilon experiences. Here is the contribution from a Phi Epsilon Deke who has remained a devoted and active brother throughout his life.

The Dekes, the New York Yankees, and Me

By Trayon Onett III, Phi Epsilon-Minnesota ’80

In the Autumn of 1979, I pledged Delta Kappa Epsilon at the University of Minnesota, joining the Phi Epsilon chapter. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pa., I was a stranger in a strange land.

I was also an aspiring Division I hockey player, so there was no better place on the planet to be. The Minnesota Gophers were reigning Division I national champs then and had claimed the title in three of the previous five seasons. Nine players and the Gophers’ coach were soon to be part of the ‘Miracle’ 1980 Winter Olympic champs in Lake Placid, N.Y.

After pledging, I phoned home to give my parents the good news. I was on my way to becoming a Deke. Unbeknownst to me, my father shared the news with my uncle, a thoroughbred horse breeder in Ocala, Fla. In turn, my uncle shared the news with his long time friend and neighbor, another thoroughbred breeder.

It wasn’t much later that a package arrived for me on campus. Like all starving and penniless freshmen, I opened the mail, hoping it was a care package from home, with food, goodies … and money. Instead, it was a package from the New York Yankees. Turns out, my uncle’s friend

was George Steinbrenner. And he had sent me a Midnight Blue satin jacket with white Yankees logo stitched on the front.

I was awestruck by its simplicity and its beauty. Inside, a small, embroidered patch identified the contents as ‘Official Yankees Merchandise.’ Today, such garments are commonplace. But in 1979, you only got to wear this jacket if you could hit Major League pitching or throw a 98 mph fastball.

Also inside the box was a personal note from Mr. Steinbrenner congratulating me on making one of the wisest decisions of my life. He welcomed me to our select brotherhood – with a history of producing leaders of nations, pioneers of science, and captains of industry – and predicted that friendships I would make would last my lifetime. All of which is true. All of which came true.

I was a Pirates fan. I grew up watching Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Steve Blass winning the World Series. But that day, I also became a Yankees fan. I wore the jacket everywhere. On campus, people recognized me as the

guy with the Yankee jacket. Even my Phi Epsilon pledge brother, Mark Miller, a star pitcher for our inter-fraternity league team, exclaimed “Where’d you get that? It’s a real jacket!”

My time at DKE has enriched my life with memories and experiences beyond what I could have imagined as a young man in the autumn of 1979. I revere the lifelong

friendships I have made. We have been in each other’s lives, in weddings, for good days and bad days. We will walk each other to the grave and then celebrate our lives like the Norse Vikings would have.

And I am pleased to see the Phi Epsilon chapter is flourishing and stronger today than when I added New York Yankees to my allegiances alongside my love of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

–Friends from the Heart, Forever.

Deke Trivia: Did You Know?

That while many Dekes have been great athletes, from collegiate or Olympic stars to professional sport legends, many also have been inventors and designers of athletic equipment. Frederick Thayer, Alpha ’78, invented and patented the first catcher’s mask. Brother Thayer, a third baseman and captain of the Harvard Nine had adapted a fencing mask for use by the team’s catcher, Alexander Tyng. Tyng first used the mask in a baseball game on April 12, 1877, when Harvard played the Live Oaks of Lynn, Mass. Derided at first as a “rat trap,” the mask’s popularity grew quickly among amateurs and professionals. The patented mask went into the Spalding catalogue for the 1878 season and adaptations of the design of Brother Thayer followed quickly with widespread use by the 1880s.

Above: Brother Onette, left, and Phi Epsilon brothers Dennis Whitacre, the late Dr. Eric Burton, Craig Ostebee, and Dr. Mark Miller tailgating at a 2009 Gophers game.

Left: Onett’s satin jacket, courtesy George Steinbrenner in 1979.

CHAPTER NEWS

DKE welcomes and encourages reports from all its chapters and associate chapters. To share highlights from your chapter, send text, photos and questions to Mike Hilts, Gamma ’76, mike@dke.org

We held a wine tasting and learned about the history and art of wine making from a certified sommelier.

Overall, the Chapter of Alpha Gamma is doing very well and is excited about our planned attendance the DKE Club of New York in mid-April. GO ARMY!

successfully working the chapter out of a deep debt that has hampered our social scene and our ability to host stronger recruitment events. A successful alumni fundraising campaign brought in $18,000. Alpha Omicron is proud of our connection with alumni, who return

Alpha Gamma-U.S. Military Academy.

Brother Beta Timothy Cle-

ments reports: The Brothers of Alpha Gamma, now 45 members strong, continue to make great strides on the path towards earning our formal DKE charter. We recently had our onboarding and Health and Safety meeting with DKE’s Assistant Director of Chapter Services, Morgan McElroy. The input from the brothers helped the meeting go very well.

We continue to strive to stand out among our peers at the U.S. Military Academy. Brothers Steven Scanlon, Andrew Sarff, and Timothy Clements (‘24) all rappelled the game puck in from the hockey Rafters into our hard-fought game against Air Force. Brother Jonny Haley (‘24) a starter on Army’s defending National Cham-

pion Men’s Rugby team has continued to lead a mentorship program for the squad. Jonny brings positive energy wherever he goes and is an active member of his Cadet company. He says “playing rugby has presented a challenge of managing time to balance with school, military and personal time, where West Point life already has a very strict, tough schedule. That’s made it tough to participate in all the DKE events I’d want to be part of, but those I did attend did not disappoint! The brothers of DKE have also provided awesome support—including coming out to our first home game of the spring season.”

West Point permits cadets to reserve places on post for social activities. Alpha Gamma used it to their advantage to expand the knowledge and culture of our brothers.

Alpha OmicronColorado.

Brother Beta Christopher McLaughlin, ’24, reports: Alpha Omicron is proud to announce that in March we received notice of our fall ’22 GPA, our highest single semester chapter GPA ever. The average also generated our highest ranking among IFC fraternities since DKE joined the IFC on the Hill. Our 3.14 GPA helped us climb more than 12 spots since Spring ’21 to 3rd out of 21 fraternities. Special shoutouts to our resident academic weapons who each pulled a 4.0 last semester: Vignesh Chandrasekhar, Chris O’Rear, Luke Seifert, and Mikey Deguzman.

The exec board has been

to campus frequently and every summer for an alumni dinner. A regular visitor and volunteer is Delta Phi-Alberta Deke Darren Kelly, who helped found our Alpha Omicron chapter. Shown at right front in the accompanying photo, Kelly still advises and educates our members – keeping the traditions and knowledge of DKE alive – while also personally counseling us in our professional careers.

We recruited well despite having a temporary chapter house that’s too distant from the Boulder campus. We initiated seven quality members who fit our culture and DKE character – and we aim to attract the biggest class ever with the same depth of char-

Wine tasting at West Point, from left, Timothy Clements, Jonathan Haley, and Caden Blust

Alpha Omicron-alumni dinner spring 2023

acter next fall when we move into a new house.

Individual brothers have been successful in a wide range of pursuits and endeavors. Brother Chandrasekhar was a founding member and now Director of Finance for HackCU, a campus club that promotes computer science and software development.

Chris O’Rear, a legacy Deke whose dad was a member of Sigma chapter at Amherst College, is a researcher at CU’s Shields Engineering Biochemistry lab and a volunteer in the surgical ward at Boulder County community health.

strengthening our brotherhood. In late March, we held our second-ever formal, traveling to Asheville, N.C., where all enjoyed a very pleasant mountain weekend.

Next up socially, we are collaborating with another UGA fraternity, Chi Psi, to co-host a spring party themed Purple Haze after the Jimi Hendrix song.

Beta Delta-Georgia.

Brother Beta Mikel McElroy

reports: This spring, our chapter carries over a lot of success from last semester including momentum from our first annual Gator Roast Philanthropy. This event led up to the famed SEC football rivalry of Georgia v Florida and earned funds to benefit Athens Emergency Food Bank. In the largest Beta Delta fundraiser ever, we sold over 200 tickets, raising more than $2,000.

We are focused on keeping recruitment numbers high and

Our biggest challenge has been housing, where we don’t really have an official chapter house. Yet, we have recruited well and we’re growing in size and just set a Beta Delta record for the most brothers initiated in a calendar year.

We’re also taking leadership in a variety of pursuits.

Brother Matthew Mularski co-captains the UGA Competitive Cheerleading Team which recently placed 7th in nationals. Brother Nikolai Todorovski won election to serve as Senator in the

Student Government Association. Brother Jack Kronenberger is interning as an aide in the Georgia Senate. Brother Jonathan Anderson won by knockout in a boxing match in a Delta Sigma Phi philanthropy.

We’re proud, too, of the recognition Brother Grayson Schofield, an entertainment and media studies major, is getting from an article in the student magazine, The Red & Black. It focuses on Grayson’s burgeoning music career in which he creates lo-fidelity beats. He recently released many of them to the public and is now on Spotify under the name “Bakuto.” Here’s a study beat, Therapy, he produced last year on Soundcloud.

Delta Rho-North Carolina State.

Brother Beta Zeb Scott reports: The brotherhood spirit is robust among the gentlemen, scholars and jolly good fellows of Delta Rho. We’re on a renewed upward climb after plateauing in growth recently. We’ve recruited better recently and we’re hopeful of keeping the

trend going.

Delta Rho has improved its GPA the last few semesters and DKE now ranks fourth best among NC State’s 25 fraternities.

We have re-established a service relationship with the Boys and Girls Club of Raleigh. Our chapter makes weekly visits to the club’s afterschool program, engaging with 60+ underprivileged youth, tutoring them, playing sports and games with them.

Delta Rho also commits proceeds from a popular philanthropy event to the Boys and Girls Club. We are locked in to host again the Dunk-a-Deke in the Brickyard on campus, which raised $1,000 last year.

We recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of Delta Rho’s founding and welcomed back to campus alumni members from every pledge class. A great thrill was the attendance by the first baby of a Delta Rho DKE. It was good connecting with many alumni, including Aiden Flynn and Emerson Bruno, who started the band Late Notice while at NC State.

Delta-Rho 10th Anniversary

Beta Delta-Grayson Schofieldlo-fi music producer

CHAPTER NEWS

These days, they play all over the Carolinas; they’ve gained a big following and even released four singles! Another alumnus, Sam Schmidt, started a designer clothing company called 9 Life. Artists like Big Sean, Sebastian Yatra, Childish Major, Michael Behling, and many more have been seen with his brand.

Phi Mu-Manhattan.

Our chapter thanks everyone who came out and supported Pie a Deke, an event we held during Manhattan College’s second annual International Women’s Day celebration, organized by Alpha Pi Phi sorority. Several campus groups set up fundraising initiatives on the quad. While other groups sold donuts, bracelets and flowers, our event seemed to draw out-of-scale interest in paying to smash a pie into the face of a DKE member.

“I think people enjoy pie-ing us in the face, for a bunch of different reasons. But yeah, I think it’s really fun,” said Juan Posada in an article in the student newspaper, The Quadrangle. Posada, a junior and Phi Mu chapter vice president, said that he believes it is important for men on campus to come out

and support women and the event’s cause. Phi Mu raised money for Concourse House, a non-profit working to reduce homelessness by providing families with safe, stable and transitional housing.

Earlier in the spring, Phi Mu conducted a Flowergram charity fundraising around Valentine’s Day. The chapter established online links to pre-order roses, with delivery by Dekes included. The event raised over $900 for the American Cancer Society, inspiring the brothers to give a healthy round of clicks for Philanthropy Chair Mike Gibson.

Not all Phi Mu good times sourced from philanthropic efforts. We recently celebrated as intramural basketball champs. And we wore the green in good fashion when brother John Howard was featured on Fox News to ring in St. Patrick’s Day, blowing hard on his bagpipe. Brother Howard plays the accordion as well as bagpipes for parades, weddings, funerals, or wherever things need livening up!

Zeta Chi-Bentley. B

initiated a fall new member class of eight members and just onboarded a spring 2023 new member class of 20 – the biggest new member class in our 32-year history.

Two brothers, Hayden Shattuck and Jeff Del Trecoo, played pivotal roles in leading Zeta Chi to dominate spring rush and recruitment success last fall as well. Brother Del Trecco noted that, “Consistent recruiting through multiple semesters allowed us to find a group of fine young men that are not only good people but are committed to improving DKE in the coming years.”

gets creamed

rother Beta Mason Parks, ’24, reports: With great honor, I take this opportunity to highlight some of the achievements of our DKE chapter at Bentley University. Founded in 1991, our chapter now boasts 71 active members – registering a remarkable increase of 65% since the start of the current school year in September. We accepted and

Brother Shattuck noted that the quality of new members continues a track record of leadership in many and diverse aspects of life at Bentley University. “Multiple Zeta Chi brothers in our new member class will be serving in student government next year, and many of them have already proven themselves as leaders on campus and within the fraternity. And two recently onboarded members are baseball and track and field athletes.

Over the past four years, the past four Class Presidents have been Zeta Chi members. In that same four-year span, four Zeta Chi members have held the seat as Interfraternity Council President, and four have served as Senators in the Student Government Association.

Zeta Chi also boasted numerous portfolio managers and research analysts in Bentley’s illustrious Bentley Investment Group, two President seats in the Bentley Real Estate Group, and leadership roles in the Allocation & Internal Audit Committee.

Zeta Chi is a campus leader in philanthropy as well. This spring, we continued our relationship with Boston Children’s Hospital, raising funds through a March event, ‘Karaoke for the Kids.’ Over the past two years, we raised $22,000 for BCH’s Every Child Fund. Our chapter won Bentley’s Fraternity Hockey Classic and Greek Week in March, allowing us to donate another $1,000 to Boston Children’s.

Zeta Chi will graduate 17 seniors in May. We’re grateful for their contributions to our chapter, and to DKE look forward to hearing of their successes in the future. Companies where our seniors will soon start their careers include Goldman Sachs,

Phi Mu’s Rory Naughton

Zeta Chi officers Dan Milks, Vice President, left, and Mason Parks, President, with Doug Lanpher at DKE Officers Academy.

THE EXPEDITIONS ISSUE T

hanks to DKE brothers who journeyed deep into the frozen lands of snow and ice, our fraternity’s flag was planted at the North Pole and twice in Antarctica.

Here are the fascinating stories about three Dekes who carried our banner to the far reaches of Earth.

Admiral Robert E. Peary made several expeditions to the Arctic before reaching the North Pole – the first man to do so – in 1909.

Sixty-three years later, 21-year-old Bill Markley, a Deke at Sigma Alpha Virginia Tech, made the first of two extended research trips to Antarctica. He lived there for many months in 1972 and ’73.

And earlier this year, Austin Ricci, the Brother Beta of our Omega Omega chapter at the University of Arizona, spent an amazing 11 hours in Antarctica.

As they say on TV’s “Law & Order,” these are their stories.

PEARY DISCOVERS THE NORTH POLE

BY DOUG LANPHER, GAMMA ‘77

The 20th Century was the greatest 100-year period of achievement in human history. Scientists, inventors, and explorers made incredible advances in medicine, technology, and in understanding the world around us.

Air flight was achieved early in the century, and Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic only 25 years later.

Penicillin, and vaccines for polio and other diseases were developed, humans received new hearts and other organs, and DNA profiling was discovered. Einstein developed the Theory of Relativity. Other discoveries and inventions include the automobile, the transistor, radio and TV, the computer, and the Internet.

Great explorers pushed the boundaries by climbing Mount Everest, expanding our knowledge of the ocean frontier, landing on the moon, and discovering previously unknown parts of the world.

One of the greatest of these human achievements was the discovery of the North Pole in 1909, by Robert E. Peary, a Deke from Theta-Bowdoin. This is the story not only of Peary’s historic discovery, but also the story of his devotion to the fraternity he loved, Delta Kappa Epsilon.

Born in Pennsylvania in 1856, Peary moved to Maine at age 4, and graduated from Bowdoin College in 1877 with a degree in

PEARY’S LIFE IN DKE

civil engineering. He joined the Navy, and always had a fascination with Arctic exploration. Even as a 29year old naval engineer, while in Nicaragua in 1885 surveying possible sites for a Canal, his heart must have been elsewhere, because to a friend he expressed his desire to be the first man to reach the North Pole.

In the early 1900s, reaching the poles (both North and South) was thought to be the last of the great geographic goals of explorers around the world. Previous expeditions dating back 300 years had come up short. Peary himself had failed twice. But in 1909, he brought glory and everlasting fame to DKE, when he became the first man to make it to the North Pole, and he proudly planted our colors there when he did.

Peary was a very active Deke brother, both before and after he achieved fame; he was a regular attendee at many DKE events throughout his life, and he was proud of his affiliation with the fraternity.

Before Peary’s unsuccessful 1907 expedition, the undergraduates of Theta-Bowdoin presented him with a special Deke pin, which he vowed to wear on his upcoming expedition to the North Pole and then to present it back to the chapter upon his return.

Shortly after that expedition left New York, and long before the outcome of the mission was known, the Deke Quarterly wrote the following paragraph, in which the editors underscored the perils of the voyage:

Commander Robert E. Peary, when he sailed on his latest expedition in search of the Pole, wore a Deke pin presented him by the undergraduate members of the Theta Chapter, of which he is a most loyal alumnus. If he comes back in safety, he will return the pin to the Chapter to be treasured at the house, and if he never returns it will remain there upon his breast in the frozen north.

That expedition did not reach the Pole, although it did set a record for the northernmost point on Earth ever reached in human history up to that time. As promised, Peary wore the pin on the expedition, and returned it to the Theta Chapter upon his return. The pin is displayed in the PearyMacMillan Arctic Museum at Bowdoin College.

PREPARING FOR THE POLE

In April, 1909, Peary was 52 years old. He and President Roosevelt had become close friends, most likely due to their shared interest in exploration and human achievement. In fact, as the quest for the Pole became a more realistic likelihood, Roosevelt granted Peary a leave of absence from the Navy to pursue it. When Peary designed and had a ship constructed specifically for the Arctic explorations, he named it Roosevelt. It was a revolutionary design, with three masts and a powerful

steam engine, a bow designed to break up ice, and a rounded hull which would rise when under pressure from pack ice, rather than being crushed.

After the expedition, Peary wrote the following passage about the ship:

“The Roosevelt fought like a gladiator, turning, twisting, straining with all her force, smashing her full weight against the heavy floes whenever we could get room for a rush, and rearing upon them like a steeplechaser taking a fence.”

Top, sky-view sketch of the polar region and Commander Peary’s 1909 route; above, the first ship built for Arctic exploration, which Peary designed; left, the president and Peary meet on the deck of the Roosevelt.

THE 1908-09 EXPEDITION

Peary, by now a commander in the U.S. Navy, left New York on Roosevelt with a crew of 23 men, on July 6, 1908.

The ship sailed up and around North America, past Labrador and Newfoundland, through the Labrador Sea and into Baffin Bay. Along the coast of Greenland, the crew anchored at various coastal settlements, mostly to recruit Inuit men (aka “Eskimos”) to accompany his team. Its final anchorage was at Cape Sheridan in the narrow inlet between Ellesmere Island and Greenland, almost at the northern end of Ellesmere Island, and that’s where the expedition spent the winter of 1908-09, the “black and melancholy five months’ Arctic night,” according to Peary. While there, they gathered food, dogs, and supplies. His previous missions had taught him about the equipment and supplies he would need. In fact he designed a new kind of dog sledge which proved to be more effective than the prevailing Eskimo design while traversing the Arctic terrain. He also developed a new kind of alcohol stove to heat the camp sites.

supplies. They made about 11.5 miles per day on the outward trip. Each night they made camp, building igloos in which to sleep, with packed snow for doors.

The conditions were brutal. Temperatures averaged -30F and never got higher than -10F. Strong winds consistently ripped across the landscape, making it feel much colder. Peary later said that a flask of brandy in a pocket inside his parka froze solid. The men and dogs had to pull the sledges (500 pounds loaded) across the frozen surface, which consisted of rough, rubble ice and was rarely flat and smooth. They could feel the ice rise and fall with the movement of the tides. The shifting tides and moving ice floes caused pressure ridges to form, sometimes as much as 80 feet high, over which men and dogs strained with all their might to push and pull the loads.

The men and dogs had to pull the sledges (500 pounds loaded) across the frozen surface, which consisted of rough, rubble ice and was rarely flat and smooth.

The final team assembled by Peary to make the expedition to the Pole included 15 of his men, 19 Inuit men, 140 dogs, and 28 sledges. The remainder of his men stayed with the Roosevelt. They made their final camp at Cape Columbia at the very northern edge of Ellesmere Island, and on February 22, 1909, Peary stepped off of land and onto the frozen Arctic Ocean for the 413 mile thrust to the North Pole, never to step on land again for the next two months. According to Peary, “there is no land on the route we followed from Cape Columbia to the North Pole.”

They pushed forward in five divisions, and Peary followed his carefully designed plan of sending sledges, dogs and men back to the ship in stages, when they were no longer needed to haul

Most perilous of all were the lanes of open water, called “leads,” which Peary called the “everpresent nightmare” of Arctic travel, which were impossible to predict, and at any time “could cut us off from land and life.” Some leads were narrow but some were 1-2 miles wide, or more. When faced with a lead, the team had to travel to the left or right to find where it ended, or wait for the tides to close the gap or for the cold weather to freeze the water enough to race across the young ice. Of these dangerous leads, Peary said “They are the X of the polar equation.” Sometimes they had to use large loose ice floes as ferries which would be loaded with men, dogs and sledges, and tugged back and forth with ropes to get the team from one side to the other in stages. One time at night a lead opened up between Peary’s igloo and one of the others, stranding the other group of men and dogs, drifting away on a floe until they could be rescued. Peary never slept in a sleeping bag or with mittens on, in case a lead should

Above, the steamer-schooner Roosevelt and its tough, resilient thick wooden hull specified by Peary cuts through an ice pack; above right, Peary’s co-explorer for two decades, Matthew Henson, and, at right, four Inuit Peary chose for the final dash to the pole.

open under his igloo at night, as he feared the possibility of plunging into icy water trapped in a sleeping bag or with heavy mittens on. From March 4th-10th of the outward trip, they encountered the “Great Lead,” which forced them to huddle in their igloos for six days in minus 40 degree weather. The fear of leads opening up kept them continuously on edge, as they could often hear ice rumbling and cracking beneath their feet or their igloos. Peary recounts a story from late March when they had to race across a lead that had just recently closed:

“During this march we had to cross a lake of young ice, some 6-7 miles wide, so thin in places that the ice buckled under us as we rushed on at full speed for the other shore.”

The weather was a constant enemy. Peary said, in his understated way, “Monday, March 15 was also clear and cold, with a temperature between 45 and 50 below zero. The wind had shifted again to the east and it was very penetrating.” Of the weather one night, he said “The temperature that night was 50 below zero; there was a fresh breeze from the southeast, and enough moisture in the open water close by us to give the breeze a keen edge, which made the time occupied in building igloos decidedly unpleasant.”

In late March, 1909, they reached a point from which it was time to make the final “dash” of about 130 nautical miles to the Pole, or a five day march. Conditions were great for that last dash, as the ice became much flatter. As Peary said, the dogs were “galloping and reeling off the miles in a way that delighted my heart.”

An important decision for Peary was the careful selection of the small party for the final dash. He would choose himself and one other from the Roosevelt, and four Inuit: “When I came to make up the party for the final dash, I myself would take the most efficient of the Eskimos.”

PEARY FRIENDSHIP WITH MATTHEW HENSON

The other crew member from the Roosevelt that he chose for the final dash was Matthew Henson, a controversial choice because Henson was a black man. Peary and Henson met in 1887 when Henson was a clerk at a men’s haberdashery at which Peary was shopping. They struck up a conversation and when Peary learned that Henson had three years of seagoing experience, he immediately hired him as his valet. Henson was ten years younger than Peary. They became linked together in history as close friends and co-explorers for the next 23 years, and they are buried next to each other at Arlington National Cemetery. It is easy for us today to overlook how courageous this was for Peary in the early 1900s to select a black man as his partner in his scientific pursuits over so many years, but for the successful quest for the Pole, he stated simply that Henson “was the best man I had with me for this kind of work.” The second reason was that “I wished to give Henson some return for his many years of faithful service to me, and this was the best thing I had to give to him.”

HONORARY DEKE

Still today, Henson is a folk hero in Greenland and among the people of the Arctic region. Earlier this year, DKE contacted Henson’s great-granddaughter, Aviaq Henson, who lives in Nuuk, Greenland, and with her enthusiastic support, conferred posthumous honorary membership upon Henson, who now has become a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon along with Peary. This is a fitting tribute to the man who traveled side by side on perilous missions with Peary for two decades, and who shared in his great achievement.

“MINE AT LAST!”

On April 2nd, the team reached the farthest northern point on Earth ever traveled by man; then, as they made camp on the 5th, they were 35 miles from the Pole. They left before

Above left, one of Peary’s nightly igloo camps; left, with sled dogs on the Roosevelt; above, the crew struggles to pull sledges over an ice floe pressure ridge; inset, a sledge of Peary’s design; right, Peary takes a reading at the pole.

midnight on the 5th. On April 6th, Peary’s team reached what he estimated was the Pole. They made camp and spread out to begin to take their various readings, and soon, he and Henson independently determined that in fact they had succeeded in their historic quest, and they became the first humans to stand at the geographic North Pole! “The Pole at last, the prize of three centuries. My dream and goal for 20 years. Mine at last!”

THE DEKE FLAG AT THE NORTH POLE

Peary had attended a dinner of the Western Deke Association in Chicago in January, 1908, at which he was presented with a large Deke flag. This was six months prior to the expedition. His pride in being a member of DKE motivated Peary to bring this flag with him on his historic expedition.

Once the Pole was reached, Peary himself took the famous photo, with the Deke flag which had been presented to him in Chicago, shown second from left.

He explained why he chose the Deke flag as one of the five he would display at the North Pole: “The flag of the Delta Kappa Epsilon alumni association, while for me personally associated with the far-off college days and with many glad reunions since, had meanings larger than the personal.”

Oo-tah, holding the Deke flag, was 30 years old, stood 5 feet 3 inches tall, and weighed 152 pounds. He had been on previous expeditions with Peary, and was selected by Peary because of this reliability and skills. Oo-tah rightfully holds a place of honor in DKE lore.

The Deke flag in the photo is now at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. It’s not on display, but it is available for private viewings for DKE groups upon request. A group of a dozen Deke alumni gathered in the Smithsonian in January of 2023 for a private viewing. The flag is in remarkable condition for its age.

After reaching the Pole, Peary’s team made their return trip to Roosevelt on Ellesmere Island, and departed from there for New York, with a stop in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Peary was hailed in New York and around the world as a conquering hero, and there was a burst of pride for another great scientific achievement for America and for DKE.

PEARY’S LIFE IN DKE AFTER HIS DISCOVERY

In November, 1909, just four months later, the 63rd Deke Convention met in Philadelphia, where the delegates passed the following Resolution:

That the sixty-third Convention of DKE Fraternity congratulate Brother Peary, Theta-Bowdoin, upon attaining the object of which he has so faithfully striven, achieving the discovery of the North Pole; and we appreciate the honor to the Fraternity by his placing our banner at the coveted goal.

When Peary wrote a book telling the story of his expedition, the introduction was written by Theodore Roosevelt. In his inimitable style, Roosevelt wrote:

“Commander Peary has made all dwellers in the civilized world his debtors. He has performed one of the great feats of our time; he has won high honor for himself and for his country, and we welcome his story of triumph which he won in the immense solitudes of the wintry north.”

A wonderful Deke vignette occurred about two years after the expedition, when Roosevelt and Peary were guests at a

Commander Peary took this photo of his crew soon after reaching the Pole; the DKE flag is second from left; that flag, at right, now resides at the Smithsonian.

dinner event in New York. They were seated together and were vigorously engaged in a friendly discussion. After the dinner, Roosevelt had to leave for a speaking engagement at a different location, but Peary wanted to finish their conversation, so he followed TR out to his car, hopped on the running board, and stuck his head through the window during the ride to TR’s next event so they could continue talking!

THE BANQUET AT HOTEL ASTOR

On December 18, 1909, shortly after his triumphant return to New York, and when he was one of the most famous men in the world, Peary was the guest of honor at what had to be one of the great Deke events of all time. The banquet was held in the elegant ballroom of the Hotel Astor, with 1,000 Dekes in attendance, both alumni and undergraduates. Each place setting contained a miniature replica of the flag taken to the Pole by Peary, as well as a small ceramic figurine depicting his expedition.

DKE HQ has one of the miniature flags and one of the ceramic figurines in our office.

Not many details remain from this dinner, but anyone can imagine that the room must have been bursting with pride in our great brotherhood!

Then a little over a year later, February 18, 1911, another grand dinner was held to honor Brother Peary, this one hosted by the same Western Deke Association which had presented him with the flag that he brought to the Pole. This dinner was held in Chicago’s famous Drake Hotel (owned by a Deke at that time), and Brother Peary brought with him the flag, which was displayed at the speakers’ table.

At left, a thousand Dekes attended a banquet at Hotel Astor honoring Peary’s achievement; at right, a ceramic figurine depicting the expedition was at each place setting.

Here’s an excerpt of the Deke Quarterly’s coverage of that dinner:

The tables at the Banquet were decorated with wide ribbons of crimson, blue and gold, and the flowers in vases were also of the same colors. Cigarettes had been specially made for the occasion, each one stamped with the Greek letters and the box embossed with the title of the Banquet. The menu featured appropriate dishes for the occasion, including Siberian caviar, puree of Iceland moss, Alaska celery, scallops of Labrador, tenderloin of polar bear with pemmican sauce, breast of ptarmigan on hard tack, and reindeer milk cheese.

At the Grand Opening of the Deke Club of New York in 1917, Peary again attended, and “At the dinner afterwards, Rear Admiral Robert E. Peary was introduced, and received a tremendous ovation, which was renewed when Brother Peary referred in his opening remarks to the DKE flag that he planted at North Pole in 1909. Brother Peary spoke briefly of his Arctic experiences, noting that the achievement itself was ‘the result of pluck and perseverance, sheer grit and human endurance, rather than anything that science or invention has given to the world.’”

PEARY’S LEGACY IN US AND WORLD HISTORY

Four U.S. Navy ships have been named after Peary, most recently the USS Robert E. Peary, commissioned in 1971 and decommissioned in 1992.

Peary has been honored by the U.S. Postal Service with two stamps, one in 1959 commemorating both the 50th anniversary of his discovery of the Pole, and the launching of a U.S. subArctic submarine. The second stamp from 1986 depicted Peary and Henson together, with a scene from their expedition.

In March, 1911, Peary was promoted by the U.S. Navy to the rank of Rear Admiral. As mentioned above, he and Henson are buried side by side in Arlington National. Henson was re-interred there in 1988 from his previous resting place.

Peary is still a revered figure today by Dekes who admire his achievements, as well as for his personal motto: “I will find a way or make one.” In 2018 the Rutgers Dekes created a rush shirt with those words proudly displayed.

In closing, let’s refer back to yet another Deke dinner event honoring Brother Peary after his great achievement. This was at the Northeastern DKE Association dinner in Boston, with 200 guests in attendance. After the dinner speeches, all in attendance rose to their feet and sang a specially-written song. Its closing lyrics were:

We hail Commander Peary, Theta’s gallant son and bold.

Who has carried to the farthest north the crimson, blue, and gold;

He comes from Maine and rides the main like a Viking, bold and free:

In Zero Land he’s a hero, and he’s a loyal D.K.E.

BILL MARKLEY FONDLY REMEMBERS TWO TRIPS TO ANTARCTICA 50 YEARS AGO

Ahalf century has passed since Bill Markley’s amazing trips to Antarctica, but the 72-year-old Deke from Virginia Tech still remembers the adventures as if they took place yesterday.

Bill had just completed his junior year at Virginia Tech when Dr. Bruce Parker, a noted microbiologist at the university, received a grant from the National Science Foundation. He was charged with researching the lakes in the Dry Valleys region in Antarctica.

“I was majoring in biology, working in the lab washing out test tubes and such, when Dr. Parker asked if I’d like to accompany a small team to go to Antarctica and help with the research,” Markley recalled. “It took me, oh, about a half-second to say ‘Yes! I’d love to go.’ It sounded like a world class adventure, which is exactly how it turned out.”

Markley, who went on to a distinguished 40-year career as a leader at South Dakota’s Department of Environmental and Natural Resources, so enjoyed his first trip to Antarctica that he returned to the region in 1973 on a second research mission. This time, he was accompanied by his Sigma Alpha DKE brother, Jim Borchers, who was also a member of the Class of ’73.

“In the area where we were, the lake was about a half-mile wide and it was covered with about 15 feet of ice,” Markley said. “We had to dig through the ice until we hit open water.”

winging his way on military planes from Roanoke to Washington, D.C. to Hawaii, to American Samoa, to New Zealand and down to Antarctica.

“The commander decided when we reached Hawaii that we needed two days of R&R, which was fine with the rest of us,” Markley recalled, chuckling.

He had coaxed his mother into sewing two DKE flags, which he planned to plant in Antarctica. “I gave one to the Sigma Alpha house on my return, but it was misplaced through the years,” he said.

Once they reached Antarctica, the fiveman team found that the glaciers had pulled out of Dry Valleys, opening up access to Lake Bonney where they would conduct their research. “In the area where we were, the lake was about a half-mile wide and it was covered with about 15 feet of ice,” Markley said. “We had to dig through the ice until we hit open water.”

“On our first trip, I was a pretty green 21 year old who had never been on an airplane,” Markley said. Soon, he was

The temperatures during that mission averaged about 25 degrees below zero, although Markley remembers a frigid stretch when the thermometer dipped to 50 below with high winds. “We stayed in a little A-frame hut in the Dry Valleys that was heated by a small stove that burned diesel fuel. I suppose it sounds rough when you talk about it today, but we were college students – a hip injury prevented Dr. Parker from making the trip – who were very excited to be there.”

For water, the team would go out, chop some ice and melt it

on the stove. Every day they would lug all their equipment on sleds five miles to the site, which took a long time and a lot of muscle, but Markley remembers it all with a sense of wonder. “Even though we were about 30 miles from the sea, we found mummified seals that dated back 3,000 years,” he said.

“I

The following year, Parker asked Markley if he wanted to return to Antarctica for another research assignment and, again, he quickly said yes. “Our first trip lasted about ten weeks, but on our return trip we were gone for several months,” Markley said.

So how does he remember the adventures with such clarity? “I kept detailed journals on both trips, which was difficult at times, but I’m really glad I have them today,” Markley said.

He’s actually an excellent writer who has produced successful old western books in his retirement. “I’ve been out here in Pierre, South Dakota, all these years with my wife, Liz, and our two adult children,” Markley said. “It can get cold in the wintertime, but nothing like those nights in Antarctica.”

From

kept detailed journals on both trips, which was difficult at times, but I’m really glad I have them today.”

top: Fellow Deke Jim Borchers accompanied Bill Markley to Antarctica 50 years ago; on Lake Bonney, Markley waves a DKE flag sewn by his mother; Bill stands in front of Mt. Erebus; transporting gear by sled 5 miles each day. An A-frame hut was home for the research team.

ARIZONA UNDERGRADUATE DEKE TAKES A QUICK TOUR OF ANTARCTICA

When his friends asked Austin Ricci what he did on his Christmas vacation, he gave a surprising answer. Ricci, a junior at the University of Arizona, who’s also president of Delta Kappa Epsilon’s Omega Omega chapter, took a pleasant flight to Antarctica. Actually, the trip required several flights through distant nations, but Austin, who’s an experienced traveler, enjoyed the journey to the frozen land of snow and ice.

Ricci, the son of American aviation entrepreneur Kenneth Ricci, has been traveling to far away lands for as long as he can remember. “Antarctica was important because I wanted to cross it off the list of places I’ve visited,” he said.

“My traveling really started picking up when I was in the eighth grade,” Austin said. “We visited Australia, Thailand, Poland, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru. My dad is a great believer that you can get so much knowledge by visiting new places and learning about the culture. We don’t spend much time lounging on sunny beaches. We visit museums and try to learn about the people.

“I think the most unique place I visited so far is North Korea where Americans are told lies the entire time you’re there. The alternate history they provide is mind boggling. They won the Korean War, for example, and they provide a picture of America that you know is just not true.”

To get to Antarctica, the Riccis booked a trip through White Desert Company of London, which schedules tours from midNovember through early February. “We tried to go once before, but the weather turned nasty,” Austin said. “This time, it was summer down there, which means it’s not outrageously cold. I think it was 17 degrees the day we landed. We’ve skied in weather colder than that.”

On his Christmas vacation, Austin Ricci was treated to a true winter wonderland in Antarctica, where he displayed DKE colors. (photos by Alex Oelofse).

Winter in Antarctica is another story, however, as a high temperature on a good day seldom reaches anything warmer than 10 degrees below zero. “And the winds are incredible,” Ricci said. “When they’re blowing hard, which is most of the time, it’s next to impossible to block them.”

The trip was special for Austin, who took along a large Deke flag to plant on the ice. “I was aware of the fact that I was one of few Dekes to have ever traveled there,” he said. “Robert Peary, the first man–and a Deke–to reach he North Pole, has always been kind of an inspiration for me.”

Ricci and a party of 11 guests landed in Antarctica near Wolf’s Fang Camp in the mountains of Queen Maud Land. The camp offers laid back yet sophisticated interiors that evoke the bygone

era of explorers. Six heated bedroom tents are equipped with washrooms and showers. Guests can take part in everything from ice climbing to rope-walks.

“Our stay in Antarctica was brief – only 11 hours, but it gave us a feel for the landscape and the conditions,” Austin said.

When he returned to the Omega Omega chapter, Austin had quite a story to tell. “The South Pole was another 12-hour flight from where we were in Antarctica, and it wasn’t part of our tour. But maybe some day I’d like to go back and visit there.” And possibly take along another Deke flag.

Meanwhile, he’s busy leading his Deke brothers at Arizona, where the chapter has swelled to 73 members and they’re looking forward to moving into a new house located right across from the university.

The plane that took Austin Ricci and fellow travelers to Antarctica, above, landed near Wolf’s Fang Camp in the mountains of Queen Maud Land. Below, Austin’s trip took him through Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.

Greetings Fellow Dekes,

One of DKE’s most important strategic goals is to grow our undergraduate membership by 10% per year. With 60 chapters and 3,000 active undergraduate members, growth is necessary so we can compete with fraternities which are two, three or even four times our size. Those fraternities benefit from economies of scale in developing the services they offer.

While we don’t expect to compete in absolute size with the biggest fraternities, our goal is to add two net new chapters per year, so that in five years we will hit 70 chapters and 4,500 undergraduate members. Then, that would give us the financial clout to compete, without sacrificing our historical focus on placing chapters at fewer, high quality universities.

Doug Lanpher, Executive Director

The growth initiative will be driven by a greater reliance than we’ve historically had on large state schools, and to do that, we must be prepared to provide housing for these chapters. The elite private institutions which were once the mainstay of DKE are generally not as welcoming to fraternities, and in some cases that’s an understatement. This means we can’t reasonably expect to expand to many more of these institutions. In today’s environment, the large state schools are where the growth in fraternity life is occurring.

At most state schools, with a few exceptions, fraternities must have adequate housing in order to remain relevant and competitive on campus. While collegiate housing trends are changing (I could write a full column on that topic alone), the fact remains that some sort of a gathering place for the brothers is still perceived as an important element of the full fraternity experience being sought by young men. If we lack adequate housing, our chapters are going to have a hard time competing; for example, on a campus which averages 100 men per chapter, a chapter with no house might be lucky to maintain a chapter size of 60. It’s not impossible to recruit, but it’s more of a challenge. One notable exception is our seven-year-old chapter at the University of South Carolina, which has 140 men. They have done an amazing job of growing their chapter, but they’re the exception to the rule, and even with our success at USC, the chapter is still seeking a long term housing solution.

DKE is currently ramping up our housing initiative. For much of our history we were able to get by with university-supplied housing. But our increased emphasis on growing DKE’s presence at state universities means that our thinking has to change with the times. We do not desire to own dozens of huge, 50-75 bed houses, but we need to look at each campus to determine appropriate housing solutions for our chapters, and then help them get there. What most new chapters have in common is the lack of an established alumni base. This is because we’ve never had a chapter there, or if we have had one in the past, it was there only for a short period of time, or it’s been many years since we were last there. As a result, we can’t rely on alumni to help obtain housing; there just aren’t enough of them and/or they are too young. In addition, housing costs in college towns have exploded over the last two decades. Everyone is aware that the cost of college has greatly exceeded the inflation rate, and housing has risen in lockstep with tuition.

By establishing the Deke Property Group (DPG) about three years ago, we put in place an LLC that will help us reach our growth goals by providing housing, either through purchases, buy/build, or by guaranteeing leases. The fraternity’s Board funded DPG with a three-year investment of $1 million, as it recognized the strategic importance of housing.

But with our list of chapters that need housing, that amount is insufficient, so DPG needs to raise more capital, from individual investors. We will soon be contacting you, our alumni, with an investment concept that will help DKE address our critical housing initiative, while at the same time providing a fixed income investment opportunity for you.

Please be on the lookout for more information coming from DPG this spring and summer.

Oh, and enjoy this issue of the Quarterly! We had a lot of fun putting it together and I hope it’s equally enjoyable for you to read.

In the Bonds,

Doug Lanpher, Gamma ’77 Executive Director, Delta Kappa Epsilon

CALVIN HILL NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE STAR

HE LAUNCHED A BRILLIANT NFL CAREER BY FIRST EXCELLING IN SEVERAL SPORTS AT YALE

In his 76 years, Calvin Hill has never chosen an easy path. One of the nation’s top young athletes, Hill, who grew up in Baltimore, received a scholarship at the age of 14 to attend New York’s prestigious Riverdale County School. Within a year he was Riverdale’s starting quarterback and would lead the school to a 51-game winning streak.

Hill’s athletic talents were not limited to the football field. As a basketball player, Hill averaged 26 points per game, and in baseball he pitched and batted over .400 in all four seasons with Riverdale’s team.

Named to the Parade magazine All America team, Hill had his pick of major colleges, as powerhouse football schools such as Michigan, Southern Cal, Alabama, Texas, and Penn State came calling with scholarship offers. But Hill, who always ranked near the top of his class academically, choose to attend Yale University.

It was there that he not only became a football legend for the Bulldogs, he also joined Delta Kappa Epsilon. Hill had wanted to play quarterback in college, but he moved to running back to make way for his classmate and DKE brother Brian Dowling.

Not only did the duo lead Yale to new heights on the gridiron, they also became stars in “Doonesbury,” the fledgling comic strip by fellow Yale student Garry Trudeau. More than 50 year later, characters based on Hill and Dowling continue to appear from time to time in “Doonesbury.”

“Gil said, ‘Wait, I’ll put Coach (Tom) Landry on the phone.’ Landry had a distinctive voice, and when I heard it, I knew it was him. I couldn’t believe it.”

Hill showed incredible versatility for Yale’s football team, rushing for nearly 3,000 yards, passing for a half-dozen touchdowns, and settling a team record for career pass reception yardage by averaging 18.8 yards per catch.

Even though he was clearly the Ivy League’s top player, Hill did not think his accomplishments at Yale had caught the attention of any NFL teams. He was wrong. The Dallas Cowboys used the 24th pick in the first round of the 1969 draft to select Hill.

“The draft wasn’t on television back then, and when I got the call from Dallas I thought it was a practical joke,” Hill told Sports Illustrated. “I think it was Gil Brandt, the team’s personnel director who called, and I didn’t believe he who he said he was. But Gil said, ‘Wait, I’ll put Coach (Tom) Landry on the phone.’ Landry had a distinctive voice, and when I heard it, I knew it was him. I couldn’t believe it.”

Hill never knew that Landry had pledged DKE at Texas, but the two brothers hit it off right from the start. Landry said he like Hill’s size – 6-foot4 and 227 pounds – and his ability to excel at almost every position on offense. “From the start, I knew Calvin was a very special player,” Landry wrote in his memoirs. “In his first regular season game, he rushed for 70 yards and threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Lance Rentzel. And that was only the beginning. I think Hill might have been the best call carrier I’d seen in all my years in the NFL.”

Things only got better from there. On the strength of 942 rushing yards, 137 yards passing (and two touchdowns) and 125 yards returning kicks, Hill was the overwhelming choice for 1969 NFL Rookie of the Year Award. The Cowboys won their division with a record of 11-2-1, and they were only stopped in the playoffs only when Hill was slowed by a broken toe.

Over the next five seasons, Hill, though he was dogged by a series on injuries, continued to star for the Cowboys. They

advanced deep into the playoffs every year (including the Super Bowl in 1971, though they lost to the Baltimore Colts, 16-13).

In 1975, Hill left Dallas to play for the Hawaiians of the World Football League, which was trying to compete with the NFL. Unfortunately, Hill suffered a serious knee injury, which limited his playing time with the Hawaiians, and the league folded after just one season.

Hill signed with the Washington Redskins and, starting in 1975, played well for three seasons. But a series of recurring injuries prompted him to announce his retirement from professional football in August of 1978.

“I wasn’t healthy and thought my career was finished,” Hill told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “But in late September of that year, after I’d had an opportunity to recover, the Cleveland Browns called. The Browns weren’t looking for me to carry a big load all by myself. The wanted a guy who run a little, catch some passes and maybe help be a positive influence on some of the younger guys.”

For the next four seasons, Hill became a huge favorite of the fans in Cleveland. “Every time Hill entered the game, it seemed like something exciting happened,” wrote columnist Dan Coughlin in the Plain Dealer. “Hill was a charismatic athlete who convinced the fans that he would do something great to spark the Browns. Most of the time that’s the way it turned out.”

Hill continued in this role for Cleveland before finally retiring

for good in 1981.

Life after football proved fruitful and enjoyable for Hill and his wife, Janet, who had been Hillary Clinton’s roommate at Wellesley College before becoming a distinguished math professor at several colleges. Together, they raised their son, Grant Hill, who would go on to become a Hall of Fame basketball star first for Duke University and later for 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association.

For six years through 1994, Calvin Hill served as vice president for personnel for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team. He also worked as a consultant for the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns, helping troubled players, including those with alcohol or drug problems. “Calvin has excelled in business and in all walks of life. He is universally respected for his skills and leadership, former U.S. President Bill Clinton said in 2015.

In 2016, Hill received his second degree from Yale -- an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. Yale president Pete Salovey told Hill: “You are a Yale legend. On the field and off, leadership, character, and service have been the hallmarks of your life.”

Calvin Hill epitomizes the DKE maxim in that he’s always been a gentleman, a scholar and a jolly good fellow – not to mention one of America’s all-time great football heroes.

Hill plaing with Dallas (above) and at Yale (left).

2023 CHAPTER OFFICERS ACADEMY DRAWS RECORD TURNOUT

BY CRAIG DICK, PHI ALPHA ’16

Brothers from across North America gathered in January once again in Washington, D.C. for this year’s Chapter Officers Academy.

While the 2022 Chapter Officer’s Academy was marred by a Covid outbreak and a massive snowstorm, this year’s conference came together perfectly, with a record attendance. Eighty-eight undergraduate brothers from 48 chapters represented all corners of DKE Nation.

The event drew a 12 percent increase in attendance from last year’s conference and included 40 Brothers Betas, 38 vice presidents of Health & Safety. and 10 Recruitment Chairmen.

Although the academy has been hosted in Washington since 2018, this marked the third time that brothers gathered at Westin’s Washington, D.C. City Center. “It really is a great location,” said Turner Spears, DKE’s Director of Administrative Services. “We used to host this event at a smaller venue in D.C., but we relocated to the Westin primarily because we outgrew our old home. The Westin is great because it’s just so close to everything. It’s only a 10-minute walk to the White House and to countless other historical landmarks.”

This year’s Officers Academy featured three officers tracks: The Brother Beta track, VP of Health & Safety track and VP of Recruitment track.

Chapter leaders arrived on a Friday evening, and after checking into the hotel, they were greeted by Doug Lanpher, DKE’s Executive Director. Following his welcoming remarks, the brothers took part in a discussion led by staff members about Delta Kappa Epsilon’s ritual. The undergraduates shared ideas on the updates that the International staff, with the help of a committee of DKE brothers, had recently made in regard to the fraternity’s cherished initiation procedures.

The brothers were then dismissed for the evening to take advantage of the weather in Washington, which was much milder than in past years during the conference. Many brothers took advantage of this opportunity to explore the sites of D.C. at night.

While many enjoyed the outdoors, others could be seen throughout the hotel mixing and mingling with their fellow Dekes. Trey Robb, the fraternity’s Director of Member Services, said the give-and-take between brothers is always a highlight of the January conference. “It was great seeing the brothers in the lobby and other parts of the hotel, talking and learning from each other. The learning doesn’t just stop when the sessions do,” Robb said.

Saturday featured a full day of sessions, beginning at 9 a.m. and wrapping up at 7:30 p.m. The day offered both general sessions, such as Trey Robb’s “Do the Right Thing” presentation on health and safety, as well as smaller breakout sessions for each officer track.

Sunday’s sessions ran from 9 a.m. until noon, and focused more on applying the skills brothers had learned to their own chapters. “There was a real buzz around the education content this year,” said Dustin Stewart, DKE’s Assistant Director of Education.

“This year’s content was focused more around real world scenarios and applied learning, which the students really seemed to enjoy. This was reflected in the post-attendance survey results, which showed substantially higher interest in content than at previous conferences,” Stewart said.

Parthiv Krishna ’23, vice-president of health and safety at DKE’s Sigma Rho-Stanford chapter, said he enjoyed the sessions. “It was great being here, learning so many things about leadership, safety and recruitment that I can take back to the chapter,” Krishna said.

Another record that was set this year was the amount of financial assistance awarded to attendees. Nearly $10,000 in assistance was offered to chapter leaders, and 17 scholarships were awarded. “This experience has been incredibly valuable for both myself and my entire chapter,” said Max Wohfeld ’25, Tau-Hamilton’s VP of health and safety. “It wouldn’t have been available to me and many of the other brothers here without alumni donations.”

As brothers departed Sunday afternoon, many stopped to ask staff questions. But one recurring question that stood out was: “When is the next international event?”

Top: a record turnout attended this year’s event, below: the program promoted an interactive learning experience for the eighty-eight undergraduate brothers that attended from 48 chapters.

MYSTIC CIRCLE OF ∆KE

Adam Ramsey Akkach

Nu AlphaNortheastern ’20

Adam Ramsey

Akkach, a founding member of DKE’s chapter at Northeastern University, died Nov. 12, 2022 at the age of 24. Adam, who graduated Summa Cum Laude from the university’s honors program, was also the chapter’s first brother-alumnus.

A member of Beta Gamma Sigma honors fraternity, he was renowned throughout Northeastern’s business school for his intelligence and work ethic. Starting his professional career in private wealth management at Goldman Sachs, he worked in New York City for three years before relocating to Dubai.

Adam was a world traveler. A gifted chess player and a beloved son, brother and friend, he was one of the first members of the initial Nu Alpha interest group that worked tirelessly to build the brotherhood before it was eventually awarded its charter. As a member of the DKE Club in New York City, Adam would welcome brothers to visit him, and he always provided invaluable knowledge, insight and encouragement to all.

Although Adam’s life was cut short, his Nu Alpha brothers said he will stand forever as the golden standard for what a Deke should be.

Ian Y.

Henderson, Jr. LambdaKenyon ’82

Ian Yandell Henderson, Jr. died Dec. 21, 2022, in Louisville.

Born Aug. 27, 1964, Ian attended St. George’s School in Newport, R.I., and Kentucky Country Day School in Louisville, Ky., prior to graduating from Kenyon College in 1987 where he was a proud Deke. He moved to Atlanta in 1990, where he married and raised his three children before returning to Louisville in 2021.

Ian was employed by the commercial real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield in Atlanta for 22 years before joining Jones Lang LaSalle, where he was Senior Managing Director until 2020. He will

be remembered for his gentle soul, his compassion and sense of humor. He was a multi-sport athlete who loved the outdoors, especially fly fishing. Ian brought joy to those who knew him and was a cherished son, brother, father, husband and friend.

John Norris O’Bannon, Jr. Beta-North Carolina ’62

John Norris O’Bannon, Jr., a lifelong resident of Marshall, Va., passed away on Jan. 20, 2023, at the age of 84.

Johnny, born in Brunswick, Md., on Nov. 16, 1938, grew up with a deep love for fishing, racehorses, and sports. He excelled in football, basketball and baseball at the Woodberry Forest School in Orange, Va., before heading to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

At college, he played freshman football, basketball, and baseball, and also pledged the Beta chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon. His freshman basketball team was coached by the legendary Dean Smith. In track, he excelled in sprints, relays, and long jump. Johnny won the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship for indoor long jump in 1961 and followed that up with the conference championship for outdoor long jump in 1962.

Johnny returned to Marshall after graduation and ran the Marshall Hardware Store for more than 30 years until it was sold in the mid 1990s. After the sale of the family business, he held various other sales and management roles until his retirement.

Johnny is survived by his wife Sharon Rich O’Bannon and three children.

Robert G. ‘Bob’

Heasley

Lambda-Kenyon ’60

Robert G. ‘Bob’ Heasley, of Granville, Ohio, passed away on Feb. 1, 2023, at the age of 83 in Columbus, Ohio. Bob gave his heart and soul to Delta Kappa Epsilon and for 20 years served as a key alumni advisor to the Lambda Chapter.

Bob often hosted Lambda brothers at his home at what he affectionately called “Dekes on Deck.” After college,

Bob spent five years in the U.S. Air Force, flying cargo planes. Upon completion of his service, he worked for Gulf States Paper Company in Kentucky. Shortly after the turn of the 21st century, Bob returned to Gambier, moving into a home adjacent to the historic Kenyon Lodge.

Bob is survived by his wife of 63 years, Margaret “Peg” (McKnight) Heasley, two sons and a daughter.

Albert L. Butler, III

Beta-North Carolina ’80

Albert L. Butler, III, of Winston-Salem, N.C., passed away on Jan. 26, 2023, at the age of 64. Albert grew up in Winston-Salem and was the youngest of four boys. He graduated from Woodberry Forest School and the University of North Carolina, where he was a dedicated Deke. It was on the first day in Chapel Hill that Albert met the love of his life, Agnes Sabiston, and married her in 1981. They raised two boys across North Carolina, eventually settling back in Winston-Salem.

Albert joined Wachovia (Wells Fargo) in 1980 and was a highly respected banker for 42 years. He served on the boards of Senior Services Foundation, the North Carolina Zoological Society, the New Winston Museum, Roaring Gap Club, and Old Town Club, among others. He regularly delivered Meals on Wheels with his friends for 25 years.

Albert had a big heart, a quick wit, and a dry sense of humor. He was known for his financial acumen, attention to detail, and dedication to his commitments. He was a skilled fly fisherman, and he and Agnes relished their adventures to Africa, Italy, Portugal, Provence, and South America, among many others. In addition to his wife, Albert is survived by two sons.

Guy Wilber Smith

Zeta Zeta-LSU ’50 Guy Wilbur Smith passed away in New Orleans, La., on Jan. 30, 2023 -- just two weeks shy of his 96th birthday. Guy was a U.S. Navy veteran who proudly served during WWII, where he was stationed in Japan.

An enthusiastic DKE brother, Guy graduated from Louisiana State University in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology and from Louisiana State University Law School with a Juris Doctorate in 1955. He was a partner with Deutsch Kerrigan for many years and in 1979 was a founding partner of Simon, Peragine, Smith and Redfearn.

Guy practiced law for 67 years before retiring at age 90. Guy, who is survived by wife Ann Marie Gandolfo Smith of New Orleans, and a daughter and a son, was beloved for his clever wit, his laugh, sense of humor (sometimes inappropriate), his brightly colored shirts, ties, socks and shoes, music, movies and his love of food and drink.

He attended festivals and concerts all over the world and enjoyed watching the action at Wimbledon and the Olympics and just about any kind of sporting event. He especially loved following his favorites – LSU’s men’s football and basketball teams.

‘A.J.’ Jay Schmitt

Tau LambdaTulane ’75

Alphonse Joseph Schmitt, III passed away unexpectedly on Sunday Jan. 29, 2023. Known as Jay or A.J., he was a native of New Orleans and lived in Covington, La., in recent years.

Jay was a lifelong sailor who owned several boats and competed in many races over the years. He particularly enjoyed spending time on his new sailboat, which he named “Cypress.” Jay will be remembered as a kind and gentle person who firmly believed in eating dessert first.

Jay was an enthusiastic Deke at Tulane University, where he was an expert piano player who performed with several bands in his younger years. He graduated from the University of Tulsa College of Law and practiced law for decades. Jay especially enjoyed practicing law with his father for many years. Jay is survived by his partner Linda Ball Dolese and his siblings.

Mason F. Day

Tau LambdaTulane ’46

Mason Frederick Day, Jr., a proud Tulane Deke, died on Jan. 31, 2021, at the age of 97. The son of a baker who

loved adventures, Mason moved often as a child. He served with the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Following his graduation from Tulane in 1946, where he received a degree in engineering, Mason returned home to work in the family business at Day’s Amusement Company.

In 1950, he married Elizabeth Louise Wilson (Betty) and they would go on to raise four children. In the years ahead, he purchased RD Hughes, Mead’s and Day’s Clothing Store along with opening Day’s Shopping Center. After 40 years of dedicated retail service, Mason sold Day’s Clothing and retired.

Mason received numerous awards, but one of his proudest accomplishments, as school board president, was helping to successfully integrate the Blytheville school system. He was a lifelong Rotarian, a Lifetime Community Achievement Award Recipient, and served as president both of both Blytheville Unlimited and the Blytheville Chamber of Commerce.

Richard Gene Smith

Sigma Tau-MIT

’69

Richard Gene Smith of Upton, Mass., died on Feb. 12, 2023, at the age of 75. Born in Long Beach, Calif., he was the only son of A. Gene and Joyce H. Smith. His father worked for Shell Oil and the family moved often – from California, to the Netherlands, then Long Island, New York, and finally Nassau Bay, Texas.

Richard attended college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned both Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in control systems. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and was captain of the varsity sailing team that won a national championship.

In 1970, he stayed in Boston after graduation to work at Stone & Webster Engineering, designing instrumentation and controls for power plants. Two years later, he moved to California to work for Systems Control, Inc. in Palo Alto as an engineering project manager for advanced control system projects for the Navy, wastewater treatment, and electric utilities.

Richard later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. Afterwards, he continued to work at technical companies in Marketing and Product Management in various locations. Eventually, he began a 30-year career with Digital Equipment Corporation and successor Compaq. A top-flight executive, Richard

managed offices in France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Sweden, Finland, Morocco, Lebanon, and Israel. Richard learned to speak French fluently, and he often joked that he learned to “dine fabulously.”

He is survived by a son and step-son.

David Gore

OmicronMichigan ’59

David Gore, a proud Deke at Michigan, died Sept. 12, 2020. He grew up in Grosse Pointe, Mich., and attended the University of Michigan before completing his bachelor’s degree in marketing and advertising at Wayne State University.

Following service in the U.S. Army, he would begin his career in the Princeton, N.J. area at Gallup and Robinson. David later served as a vice president with Hase-Schannen Research, marking a long and distinguished career in the field.

During his time in market research, he always put family first, becoming a soccer coach for his son’s YMCA teams, an assistant Boy Scout leader and always attended the Hopewell Valley Bulldogs soccer and hockey games where his son played. After retirement, David became heavily involved in the Hope Valley Lions organization. Not content to sit around in retirement, David started “Morningside Mowing,” the lawn service company, and he mowed lawns until age 80.

David is survived by his wife, Jonnylee Gore, and their son.

Alston Fitts III

Psi-Alabama ’61 Alston Fitts III, a respected Selma, Ala., historian, died Jan. 13, 2023, at the age of 83 in St. Augustine, Fla. Alston was a member of the distinguished Fitts family that included so many respected DKE brothers at Psi Alabama.

Fitts was the author of two books about Selma, including “Selma: Queen City of the Black Belt” (1989) and “Selma: A Bicentennial History” (2016).

He led communications for the Edmundite Missions for 25 years and served on the Board of the Old Depot Museum and Rotary Club of Selma. He also taught history at Wallace Community College.

Alston is survived by his wife, Anne, and their three daughters.

MYSTIC CIRCLE OF ∆KE

Robert Wayne Trieschmann II

Zeta Zeta-LSU ’89

Robert Wayne Trieschmann II, a resident of Baton Rouge, La., died Feb. 23, 2023 at the age of 55. Born into a close-knit military family, Rob resided in many places, including Honolulu, Hawaii; Albuquerque, N.M.; San Antonio, Texas; Mobile, Ala.; Fairborn, Ohio; Montgomery, Ala.; and Springfield, Va. Rob attended Louisiana State University, where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and received his bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Rob later landed a position with the State of Louisiana Social Security Administration where, over the next 30 years, he received multiple awards for his dedicated service. Rob was an outdoorsman who loved spending time fly fishing, cycling, and kayaking. He also enjoyed cooking, photography, and tending to his bonsai trees.

Above all, his favorite times were those spent with family on the Florida Gulf Coast. Rob is survived by his loving mother, Anne Kling Browne of Niceville, Fla.,his siblings and many other relatives.

Rev. Charles Sherman Burger Alpha ChiTrinity ’60

The Rev. Charles Sherman Burger died on Feb. 3, 2023, in Boise, Idaho, at the age of 83.

He was a graduate of Trinity College where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. Charlie served as chairman of the Campus Community Chest charity drive his senior year. Following his graduation in 1960, he was employed by the Hawaiian Electric Co. as an advertising specialist in the promotion department. His military service included tours of duty with the 25th Infantry “Tropic Lightning” Division at Schofield Barracks and the 227th Engineer Battalion, Hawaii Army National Guard at Fort Ruger.

In 1963 he enrolled at the Episcopal Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, Calif., and received his Master of Divinity degree in 1966. That same year he was ordained to the priesthood and assigned to be first vicar of St. Michael’s and All Angels Church in Lihue, Kauai.

In 1968 Charlie was called to be rector of Holy Innocents Church, Lahaina, Maui. While there, he also served as president of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation, and president of the Arc of Maui County, the latter supporting people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. During his tenure at Holy Innocents, the parish built a new parish hall, established a pre-school, added a second story to the beachfront Rectory, and constructed a new administration building. He moved to Nevada in 1983, where he was rector of St. Paul’s Church, Elko, and priest-incharge of St. Barnabas Church, Wells.

He and the former Leah Diane Lowson were married in 1984. In 1985 Charlie accepted a call to be rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Sun Valley, Idaho, where he served until 1997. When Charlie retired from parish ministry that year, the Burgers became full-time travelers in their RV, touring throughout the western United States and Canada. They also traveled extensively in the British Isles, Scandinavia, continental Europe, Russia, Egypt and Israel.

Alan Paul Goldbecker

Tau-Hamilton ’65

Alan Paul Goldbecker, a proud Deke at Hamilton College, died Feb. 19, 2023, at the age of 80 at his home in Easton, Conn. While at Hamilton, he followed a liberal arts curriculum with an emphasis on economics and was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon. Alan loved sports and played football and hockey at Hamilton. During summers he participated in tennis, swimming and sailing at Black Rock Yacht Club. After college, Alan spent several months traveling through Europe, and returned to marry the love of his life, Judith Raymond Abercrombie.

A CPA, he joined Price Waterhouse where he remained for five years before joining Hubbell, Inc. as corporate tax manager. He progressed through several corporate positions to advance to Assistant Treasurer. After 12 years at Hubbell, Alan left to start his own registered investment firm, Financial Design and Management, Inc.

Alan and his family made annual trips to western ski resorts as well as a few trips to ski in Austria. Thirty-seven summers were spent on Long Island Sound and local waters on their sailboat “Finally” and Nordic Tug “Sea Wolf.”.

In addition to his wife, Alan is survived by his daughter and son.

Everett Ward Faulk Jr.

Psi-Alabama ’62

Everett Ward Faulk, Jr. died March 3, 2023 in Gulfport, Miss., at the age of 88.

His schooling at an early age was frequently interrupted as he, along with his mother and sister followed his father’s military assignments with the 31st infantry Division. Everett graduated from University Military School in Mobile, and attended the University of Alabama where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon.

Everett enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1955. As a helicopter pilot he was deployed in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and took part in the 1958 Lebanon Intervention. After completing his military service, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Alabama and embarked upon a career in banking.

He served as a Vice President of The Trust Company of Georgia in Atlanta, Executive Vice President & Director of First National Bank of Commerce in New Orleans, and Chief Executive Officer & Director of Gulf National Bank in Gulfport. He joined the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and later closed his banking career at Hancock Bank in Gulfport.

Everett is survived by his wife, Cecile, and their daughter and two sons.

William Douglas Hood

Kappa EpsilonWashington ’60 William Douglas Hood, a skilled CPA who was widely respected throughout the Northwest, died Feb. 3, 2023 at the age of 86.

Bill developed deep and meaningful friendships, from his elementary school days through his time as a DKE brother at the University of Washington. Many of his clients, who sought his accounting expertise, became close personal friends.

Bill was a proud and dedicated professional CPA who practiced until the age of 80.

With a heart as big as his smile, Bill had a genuine interest in the well being of others, which endeared him to all who knew him.

Married for more than 50 years to his wife, Ruth, Bill is survived by his three children.

∆KE CHAPTER ROLL • WINTER 2023

CHAPTERS ARE LISTED IN THE ORDER THEY WERE FOUNDED

PHI†

PSI

CHI

BETA

DELTA

KAPPA

LAMBDA ETA

IOTA

RHO

TAU

BETA PHI

PHI CHI

GAMMA PHI

PSI OMEGA*

DELTA CHI

DELTA DELTA

PHI GAMMA

THETA ZETA

PHI EPSILON

SIGMA TAU

ALPHA PHI

DELTA KAPPA

TAU ALPHA

SIGMA RHO

DELTA PI

KAPPA EPSILON*

ALPHA TAU

DELTA PHI

PHI ALPHA

TAU DELTA

PSI DELTA

SIGMA ALPHA

SIGMA PHI*

PI BETA

EPSILON RHO

NU ZETA

PHI SIGMA

ZETA CHI

OMEGA OMEGA

BETA DELTA

SIGMA KAPPA

DELTA TAU

MU CHI

ALPHA GAMMA*

TAU CHI

BETA TAU

SIGMA XI

DELTA ALPHA

PHI MU

CHI BETA

ZETA GAMMA

PI ALPHA

DELTA RHO

TAU BETA

LAMBDA TAU

ALPHA OMICRON

NU ALPHA

TAU GAMMA

SCHOOL

Yale University

University of Alabama

University of Mississippi

University of North Carolina

University of South Carolina

Miami University

Kenyon College

University of Virginia

Centre College

Lafayette College

Hamilton College

University of Rochester

Rutgers University

Wesleyan University

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Cornell University

University of Chicago

Syracuse University

University of California at Berkeley

University of Minnesota

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

University of Toronto

University of Pennsylvania

McGill University

Stanford University

University of Illinois

University of Washington

University of Manitoba

University of Alberta

University of British Columbia

University of the South

Wake Forest University

Virginia Polytechnic Institute

Villanova University

Troy University

Duke University

Pace University

Bryant University

Bentley University

University of Arizona

University of Georgia

Michigan State University

The Ohio State University

Maryville College

US Military Academy at West Point

Texas A&M University

University of Victoria

St. Joseph’s College

Auburn University

Manhattan College

University of North Carolina Wilmington

Hampden-Sydney College

University of Missouri

North Carolina State University

Simon Fraser University

University of Tennessee

University of Colorado

Northeastern University

Texas Tech

New Haven, CT

Tuscaloosa, AL

Oxford, MS

Chapel Hill, NC

Columbia, SC

Oxford, OH

Gambier, OH

Charlottesville, VA

Danville, KY

Easton, PA

Clinton, NY

Rochester, NY

New Brunswick, NJ

Middletown, CT

Troy, NY

Ithaca, NY

Chicago, IL

Syracuse, NY

Berkeley, CA

Minneapolis, MN

Cambridge, MA

Toronto, Ontario Canada

Philadelphia, PA

Montreal, Quebec Canada

Stanford, CA

Champaign, IL

Seattle, WA

Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada

Edmonton, Alberta Canada

Vancouver, British Columbia Canada

Sewanee, TN

Winston Salem, NC

Blacksburg, VA Philadelphia, PA Troy, AL Durham, NC Pleasantville, NY Smithfield, RI

Waltham, MA

Tucson, AZ

Athens, GA

East Lansing, MI

Columbus, OH

Maryville, TN

West Point, NY

College Station, TX

Victoria, British Columbia Canada

Patchogue, NY

Auburn, AL

Bronx, NY

Wilmington, NC

Hampden-Sydney, VA Columbia, MO

DELTA KAPPA EPSILON FRATERNITY 6921 JACKSON RD., SUITE 400 ANN ARBOR, MI 48103

SPRING BREAK 2023!

Tau Gamma-Texas Tech Dekes take in Vegas.

Alpha Gamma-West Point officers on Yucatan Peninsula.

Alpha Omicron-Colorado hits the slopes in Big Sky, Montana.

Lambda Tau-Tennessee men cigar shopping in Key West.

Nu Alpha-Northeastern dancing atop Hawaii.

Chi-Ole Miss Dekes in Destin, Florida.

Delta Delta-Chicago men appreciate art in Europe.

Phi Mu-Manhattan brothers at the Bronx Zoo.