"I have taken the time to list a few thoughts of what membership in Chi Zeta of
Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity at the University of Illinois has meant to me. First, Glenn
Grosse X577 recommended I be considered, and I pledged Lambda Chi in April of 1947.
Glenn was my best friend in college, the best man in my wedding in 1951, and continued
to be a longtime friend until his passing in December of 2013. I met my wife, Margarite
Eckhardt, an Alpha Xi Delta cutie, at a fraternity-arranged music show in the spring of
1948. "Mike" and I have been happily married for over 62 years, and I'm sure we would have never met
had I not joined the fraternity. Our marriage has been enriched by many Lambda Chi connections, too
numerous to list here. One particularly interesting one, though, is Betty and Ralph Smykal X575. Ralph's
father, Richard Smykal X077, was an early Lambda Chi and active in the House Corporation during the
1940s and '50s. Ralph was a special friend and a loyal and generous alumnus until his passing a few years
back. My support is given in memory and honor of these relationships and in hopes that Lambda Chi will
continue to enrich the lives of young men the same way it has enriched mine."
-Bill Stallman '48 X579
