Paragon
September 2022
This
Are you ready for Homecoming 2022?
Join us for the October Work Weekend
An Update from the Classes of 1960, 1961 & 1962
Upcoming Events
Saturday, October 08, 2022 – Homecoming Dinner
Friday, October 28, 2022 – Alumni – RSVP for Alumni Happy Hour
Saturday, October 29, 2022 – Work Weekend – RSVP for SATURDAY
Sunday, October 30, 2022 – Work Weekend – RSVP for SUNDAY
A Message from the Alumni Board President
Brothers,
About one year ago, we held the first event of the relaunch of the Ohio Alpha Beta Alumni Association when we held a Homecoming cookout at the house. That one event helped springboard us into a 2022 that has been very successful so far, and we’re not done yet.
Thus far we’ve focused much of our efforts on the physical structure of the house. Now, at the request of the active chapter, we are turning some of our efforts to supporting their operational needs. To that end, the Alumni Association co-sponsored a rush event for the Fall Semester 2022 rush. We will be involved in Bid Night to help emphasize that “Brotherhood is for Life” to those students the actives choose to invite to join us. We are also working to provide alumni coaching for specific active positions, such as President and Treasurer, so that they don’t have to reinvent the wheel every semester.
Of course, we’re still working to improve the physical house at 11016 Magnolia. To that end, we’d love for you to join us for the fourth Work Weekend of the year on Saturday, October 29, and Sunday, October 30. Please see details in this issue for the Work Weekend and the accompanying social event on Friday, October 28.
Many of you may be planning to be on campus for Case’s homecoming the second weekend of October. We hope that you will plan to join the Alumni Association for a catered dinner at the house on Saturday, October 8. For further details and registration information, please see the article below. We’d love to reconnect with you (and show off the work we’ve done on the house this year!)
Speaking of reconnecting, in recent months I’ve met several times with a group of brothers from the classes of 1960, 1961 and 1962 to discuss the direction of the Alumni Association. In this issue, we’re pleased to include some information about those brothers in their own words.
Yours in the Bonds,
Nicholas DeCenzo
President, Ohio Alpha Beta Alumni Association
Are you Ready for Homecoming 2022?
Reconnect with both your alma mater and your brothers! During Case Western Reserve University’s Homecoming weekend, the Alumni Association will be hosting a dinner at the House, and you're invited! On Saturday, October 8 at 6:30pm, enjoy a catered Italian meal at the Phi Kappa Theta House and reconnect with fellow alumni as well as active brothers. And while you’re at the House, don’t forget to check out the results of the various home improvement projects that have been completed so far this year. Admission is $20 per person to cover the cost of food and refreshments. Register for the Homecoming dinner today to reserve your spot!
In addition to the dinner, we are also holding a 50/50 raffle, and you don't even need to be present to win! Just purchase raffle tickets at the dinner or via the website, and you will have a chance to win 50% of the collected funds! The other half will go to our 501(c)7 designated Cleveland Phi Kappa Theta Alumni Corporation to support future projects to allow the Ohio Alpha Beta chapter to thrive. $5 per raffle ticket, or $20 for 5 tickets.
We will kick off the weekend Friday evening October 28 at 6:30 at Great Lakes Brewing Co. Please register in advance via our website. Brothers and guests are welcome. We have space reserved, but tabs will be on our own.
On Saturday and Sunday October 29-30, we will work on these projects and others at 11016 Magnolia:
- Repair lighting in Study Room
- Install new flooring in Study Room
- Repair or replace exit signs and emergency lights
- Repair or replace non-working lighting in multiple parts of the house
- Install deck skirting to keep out wildlife (we recently removed several groundhogs!)
- Clean out stored furnishings from the Red Room and Study Room
- Landscape maintenance, weather permitting
- General cleanup and junk cleanout
Please join us either Saturday or Sunday or both. To register, go to the Events page at ohioalphabeta.org.
Con DeLetis passed along this summary written collaboratively by a number of brothers from the classes of 1960 & 1961. This article was originally put together in August 2020 with substantial updates in October 2021, but as you’ll see, brotherhood is evergreen. Thank you Brother DeLetis for sending it our way, and I apologize for any mistakes I made updating it for the Paragon! And now, let’s turn it over to the Classes of 1960, 1961 & 1962.
What can you do if you’re a group of fraternity brothers who haven’t seen or interacted with each other for 50-60 years? There was a group of four Phi Kaps who had been in sporadic contact with each other over the years. One of the four, Dave Ehlke, sent an email to the other three in early June of 2020 and suggested that they initiate a Zoom call. This was eagerly welcomed since everyone had been sequestered for weeks because of the pandemic. During the call, it was agreed that they should invite other Phi Kap brothers into the call for the following weeks. The group grew quickly after surveying the members of the classes of 1960, 1961 and 1962. After discussion, the participants decided to schedule weekly Zoom calls and generated a prioritized list of discussion topics. And so it began.
The weekly Zoom meetings started with discussions of:
- “What are you most proud of in your life since graduation?”
- “How did you meet your spouse?”
- “What are your favorite fraternity memories?”
From there, the weekly topics went in all different directions. In addition, each brother was asked to create a record of their life after graduation, lovingly called the “Geezer Report.” The report is a short review, written by each member in their own words, which describes their jobs, their family and what they are currently doing.
So, what have we learned from these sessions? For starters, the classes of 1960, 1961 and 1962 are scattered all over the country, with brothers in Arizona, Colorado, Tennessee, Michigan, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio. Perhaps unsurprisingly from a bunch of Case Institute of Technology graduates, many of them acquired advanced degrees, with Joe Crawford leading the way with a total of 5 degrees. In addition, we found that the careers of the group members are more varied than you might expect from a group of engineers. Tom Prioreschi is a real estate developer. Gary Pasterick owns a winery. Con DeLetis, Dave Ehlke, Maynard Isabell, Al Muren, John Lozan, and Frank Stilwagner were all business executives, with Ehlke and Lozan joining Tom Prioreschi as entrepreneurs with their own businesses. Joe Crawford and Don Macko were physicians and Dave Scharday was both a college professor and a provost.
The members have been married an average of 51 years. Although many of the brothers enjoy the usual hobbies of golf, hiking and travel, some unusual hobbies stood out. Dave Schrady and Al Muren race cars. Con DeLetis collects credit cards. Don Macko paints in oils, and Joe Crawford enjoys ham radio. The classes of 1960 and 1961 are involved in a wide range of philanthropic endeavors, both as financial donors and as daily volunteers.
While each brother took a different path in life, each agrees that there was real value in the bonds formed during those early years at Case and in Phi Kappa Theta. There were many things that fraternity life prepared us for. Some of the common threads raised repeatedly by the brothers as they discussed their lives include:
- the importance of family
- the value of education
- leading a life well lived
- gratitude for the opportunities they had received
- a lack of significant regrets
In addition, all continued to be in relatively good health considering that they are now octogenarians.
It has been fascinating and positive to reunite via zoom after all these years. Long may it continue!
The brothers who contributed to this summary or are otherwise from the classes of 1960, 1961 and 1962 are listed below by class year, courtesy of a roster assembled by the group and provided to the Paragon by Brother DeLetis.
- Mike Calabrese
- Joe Crawford
- Con DeLetis
- Maynard Isabell
- Don Macko
- Al Muren
- Bob Murzyn
- Tom Prioreschi
- Joe Svete
- Joel Third
- Bill Tosko
- Wally Zimmerman
- Joe Ceccarini
- J. David Ehlke
- Frank Iilcin
- John Lozan
- Tom Morgan
- Gerald Otteni
- Gerad Pasterick
- David Schrady
- Frank Stilwagner
- Nick Camino
- John Fernbacher
- Bill Grad
- Rich Knazek
- Lou Kompare
- Jerry Lavanish
- Bob Modic
- Dave Weigel
