One of the women around that table was a Tri Sigma. Today there is a named endowment with the Women’s Community Foundation that has her name on it. Jan Elizabeth Tholen Saab was born in Winfield, Kansas, on October 30, 1944. She grew up in Emporia and graduated high school with honors. While at Kansas State Teachers College (now Emporia State University), she became a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma and she served as an officer of the chapter. Her degree in elementary education was earned in 1966.
Emporia Gazette, May 1, 1964
She married Fred Saab on December 27, 1966. She taught sixth grade for a few years before taking a break to raise three children, a daughter and two sons. Saab earned a master’s degree from Wichita State University in 1987. For 19 years, she taught English at Newton High School.
A lifelong reader and a dedicated volunteer, Saab was the 2003 Woman of the Year in Education and the overall Woman of the Year that same year. After her retirement in 2004, she served as a substitute teacher. Saab died on February 14, 2012 at the age of 67.
In 2013, the Women’s Community Foundation membership created its first endowed fund in memory and honor of Jan Elizabeth Saab, one of its five founding members.
