Delta Tau Delta - Oklahoma State University

DELTA TAU DELTA PAGE 3 Duane W. Pugh '52 and his wife, Martha, live in Austin, Texas. "Hurricane Harvey precipitated a decision to leave Houston." They have four children: Michael, Gail, Sarah, and Paul. Approaching his 90th birthday, Duane says his Delt experience was all positive. "Hello to all my brothers!" Email: dandmpugh@gmail.com Gary D. Smith '62 and his wife, Emilie, live in Jenks, Okla., and have three children: David, Carolyn, and Diane. Gary retired in 2016 as senior facilities engineer with Cimarex Energy, after working in the energy industry for 56 years. Email: gds6776@yahoo.com Lt. Col. Thomas R. Pettegrew '66 (USAF Ret.) and his wife, Barbara, live in Homosassa, Fla., and enjoy playing golf and serving several military organizations. Email: pedigru@yahoo.com James M. Bates '67 retired in 2004 as a manager with IBM. He is a senior partner of Brain Sparks Labs and is working on an iPhone app, Let's Talk. Email: jmbatwork@gmail.com C. Steve LaGrone '68 married Delt Sweetheart Gail Grantham one week after OSU graduation, and they celebrated their 50th anniversary last summer with a trip to Alaska. Steve retired in 2007 from Lawrence Paper Company, which bought his packaging company in 1985. He and Gail live in Topeka and spend a few winter months in Arizona and summer months in Colorado. Their children are all grown with teenagers of their own. Gail was diagnosed with nonsmoker's lung cancer in 2015 but has responded well to treatments and is almost back to normal. Steve started a wine club in 1997 that meets monthly and travels annually—last year to a Rhine River cruise. "Go, Pokes!" Email: cslagrone@cox.net David J. McCarty '68 retired in 2014 as a captain with Atlas Air Inc. and a simulator instructor/FAA evaluator with Boeing and Pan Am Flight Academy. He and his wife, Diane, live in Littleton, Colo., and have two children, Liberty and Merica, and five grandchildren, Delaney, Amari, Freya, Waylon, and Desmond. Dave enjoys playing golf and skiing. He says, "Life is very good!" Email: juvat@aol.com Truman P. "Chip" Woodward Jr. '68 is a retired finance manager of Shell Oil Co. and enjoys playing golf and visiting Delt brothers each winter. Chip and his wife, Sally, live in Kingwood, Texas, and spend time with their daughters, Allyson and Heather, and grandchildren. Email: tpwoodwardjr@gmail.com Clair Craighead '72 is a rancher in Woodward, Okla., where he lives with his wife, Stephanie. They have two children, K.J. and Lindsey. He is involved with the community as a board member of Northwestern Electric Cooperative, ALUMNI NEWS A lthough not a Delta Tau Delta legacy, Stephen Reel's two older brothers had attended OSU. He says, "They were not affiliated with Greek life, and I wasn't rushed by ΔΤΔ during the summer [before freshman year]. I got in at the last minute to visit Delt during Rush Week." That fortunate circumstance led to Stephen "learning to listen and lead others, to serve others, and learning what it takes to excel and achieve goals. My four years in the house were pivotal in my personal development." The opportunity to watch and learn from upperclassmen such as Gale Wilkerson '66, Jerry Barnett '68, Mike Ludewig '68, Joe Millar '68, and Chip Woodward '68 certainly made an impact on the him and the Delta Chi Chapter as a whole. While navigating academic demands and earning a bachelor's degree (and later an M.A.) in political science, Stephen created a multitude of memories, including winning the Hugh Shields Award, which allowed them to retain the flag. And he fondly recalls, as chapter president, "hiring Rick Morris '70 as rush chairman and staying up all night with him and others, waiting on the patio to greet the 24 new pledges." After graduation, Stephen spent his career in municipal government: 40 years as general counsel and organizer for a state-wide self-insurance cooperative for 450+ municipalities in Oklahoma; 44 years serving The City of The Village, initially as city manager and later as city attorney and prosecutor; and three years as city attorney for Midwest City. Stephen was one of the youngest, if not the youngest, city managers in the United States when he was appointed to that position at age 25 in 1974. That same year, he began studying law at Oklahoma City University and graduated with his juris doctorate in 1977. Now retired, Stephen enjoys distance bicycling, hiking, reading history, and expanding his rock guitar skills. He lives in Oklahoma City with his wife, Susie, who served as a vice president for the OSU Foundation. All three of their children, Michael, Stephanie, and Sarah, pledged Greek chapters at OSU. "It seems there never was a time that I wasn't on campus regularly for the last 50 years," Stephen says, both as a parent of undergraduates and as a Delta Chi House Corporation member for two separate terms. He is proud of the chapter and believes the members are working hard. "It's on the way back to the top!" However, he stresses that all members should remember "that others who came before us established a solid foundation and reputation for what we enjoyed before we ever set foot in the Shelter." Stephen can be reached at stephenreel254@gmail.com. Stephen Reel '70 Shares How Delta Tau Delta Influenced His College Years and Beyond (Continued on page 4) "Learning to listen and lead others, to serve others, and learning what it takes to excel and achieve goals. My four years in the house were pivotal in my personal development."

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