Alpha Gamma Rho - Penn State University

6 Gamma Crescent My fellow Gamma alumni, I hope this new social distancing way of life is treating you all well. Here's something cool to enjoy during this chaotic time we find ourselves in. Seven of us undergraduates were in Aruba for spring break, enjoying the beach, when we see this man walking past us in a Penn State shirt. After striking up a conversation, he asks us if we're in a fraternity at school. One coincidence after another and we discover we're talking with Ron Bracciante '60 (Γ805) on the beaches of Aruba. If you don't know Ron, he is an absolute legend, played on the '62 lacrosse championship team for Penn State. He and his wife, Angela, were both the coolest and nicest to talk to. Funny enough, there are exactly 1,000 brothers in between his member class and mine 1798-1814. How's that for perspective? "Minds blown" would be an understatement to describe how we felt after this run-in. Ron, it was an absolute pleasure meeting you and your wife. Here's to more random encounters just like this one. Stay safe out there brothers. Fraternally, Mike Donohue '18 (Γ1806) VNR Scholarship K en Ketterer '61 (Γ802) from Bucks County and Joann Buterbaugh from Indiana County met as undergraduates at Penn State in 1961. Ken majored in animal husbandry, was active in the Block and Bridle Club, and had just joined ΑΓΡ, pledging with the likes of Brothers William Buzby '61 (Γ818), Kenneth Dixon '61 (Γ811), Wallace Haulik '61 (Γ820), William O'Brien '61 (Γ804), Glenn Morrison '61 (Γ801), and Wilbur Avril '61 (Γ819). Some of Ken's favorite stories came from judging the Little All American at Penn State. Upon both graduating in 1963 (Joann with honors), Ken asked Joann to marry him, and with that accomplished, they started working. Within a few years Ken found a job working for the Eisenhowers on their farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with the President's famous Black Angus cattle herd. Following that, Ken and Joann bought a farm in Newville, Pennsylvania, and named it Bourbon Springs. She got a job teaching home economics at Cumberland Valley and then at Shippensburg Area High School; they both worked for Penn State Extension, and Ken did market reports for the Pennsylvania Department of Ag. Ken judged the Little I many times for many years and was a regular attendee at the winter business meeting. In his free time, Ken hunted and especially enjoyed going to Colorado for elk, mule deer, and buffalo. He shot a huge Buffalo in South Dakota on the ranch where the movie Dances with Wolves was filmed. First and foremost, Ken and Joann were farmers, raising cattle and hogs and in later years they crop farmed. Their marriage lasted 54 years, until Joann passed away in 2017. Ken, born December 25, 1941, in East Rockhill Township, Bucks County, passed away January 7, 2020 at home in Newville. They spent their life together doing what they loved with the people they loved. Their lives well lived are an example for us all. Respectfully submitted by Jesse Hallowell '97 (Γ1392) a marriaGe to envy A Brotherhood Far and Wide Brothers with Ron Bracciante '60 (Γ805) in Aruba. Ken Ketterer '61 (Γ802) and his wife, Joann, on their wedding day.

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