Theta Phi Alpha was founded on August 30, 1912 at the University of Michigan. The organization celebrates Founders’ Day on April 30th, but this gives me an opportunity to apologize. The post a few back about legacies, at first omitted the fact that Theta Phi Alpha has two sets of sisters among its founders. They are May C. and Camilla Ryan and Katrina and Dorothy Caughey, in whose home the organizational meeting took place. Congratulations, Theta Phi Alpha!
***
Condolences to the brothers of Alpha Epsilon Pi on the loss of their brother Gene Wilder. Wilder, under his birth name of Jerome Silberman, was an initiate of the fraternity’s chapter at the University of Iowa. Wilder was a comedic genius and his mastery of the field will be sorely missed. Lucky for us that his performances are available to us, so that when our inner Veruca Salt comes out, and we shout, “I want it now,” Wilder can magically appear as Willy Wonka, Leopold Bloom, Jim, “the Waco kid,” or any of his other roles, and we can laugh with pure abandon.
Gene Wilder when he was known by his given name Jerome Silberman,
The letter released by Wilder’s family after his death.
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2016. All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory/
