Alpha Xi Delta - University of South Dakota

Sharon Schrawger Gibboney '55 lives in Orlando, Fla., where she knits prayer shawls for the local hospital and sends out monthly cards for her church's "at-home" congregation. Email: sharongibboney@gmail.com Carol Lehman Moon '57 and her husband, Ronald, have been married for 64 years. They have three sons and one daughter, who have given them 14 grandchildren and seven great- grands! Carol lives in Harlan, Iowa. Email: papagmamoon@gmail.com Candy Hibbeler Engelland '64 lives in Sioux Falls, S.D., and has a winter home in Hudson, Fla. She enjoys traveling and seeing her twin grandsons. Email: engelland@gmail.com Linda Eagan '65 plays lots of bridge with Alpha Xi Delta sisters Lynda Menke Barley '65, Debbie Menke Nixon '68, and Elaine Cornelius Sternquist '66. Linda also organized three sisterhood reunions for the 1960s era! She lives in Peoria, Ariz. Email: leagan15594@earthlink.net Bev Allison Mickelson '66 enjoys camping and spending time with her four grandchildren. She celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary last June. Bev lives in Pierre, S.D., and is still involved with her church, music, gardening, and other handwork. Email: mmmick@pie.midco.net Cindy Potter Fejfar-Higgins '69 and her husband are retired educators from a large school system. Today, they live in the small college town of Russellville, Ark., and enjoy getting together with their children and grandchildren who live all over the state. Her husband gardens and golfs, and she enjoys the local communities and activities. Email: cfsdak50@yahoo.com (Continued on page 4) G rowing up on a farm near a small town in Iowa (with a younger brother but no sisters), Connie would go out of her way to meet people and make friends. Alpha Xi Delta helped her continue that in college; sororities were a wonderful way to get involved in campus life. "A favorite memory was my initiation week and getting to know my class quite well," Connie said. Those friendships are still there today, and she's kept the bonds strong through reunions and volunteering. Connie graduated in three years, and Epsilon Chapter helped her succeed all the while. She fondly remembers Homecoming, formals, and even study tables in the chapter house. She worked her way through college while serving as the chapter's corresponding secretary, participating in Young Republicans, and staying active in many chapter activities. Connie married her husband (a fraternity man) soon after college, and their reception was held at 214 North Plum; all four of her bridesmaids were sorority sisters! In the early years of marriage, Connie worked as a schoolteacher in Vermillion as her husband attended law school. The couple moved to Pierre, South Dakota, where she taught school and worked for the State Department of Education. They later moved to Sioux Falls, where Connie was a superintendent in a small neighboring town. Living an hour away from Vermillion helped Connie reconnect with Epsilon, and she became involved in alumnae activities and volunteering. She served on the house corporation board for six years, seeing the construction of a new chapter house and helping the sisterhood navigate the pandemic before stepping down in the spring of 2023. 2023 was also the year that Connie and her fellow 1960s alumnae enjoyed a third reunion! (The first was held in Deadwood, South Dakota, in 2000, spearheaded by a class from Connie's era. The second, hosted in Rapid City in 2014, had a much larger '60s turnout.) Approximately 60 women gathered in Sioux Falls and stopped by 214 North Plum. Many of them hadn't yet visited the new chapter house, and some hadn't returned home since graduating. Included in the group were Connie's four bridesmaids, and together they recreated an old wedding photo in front of the house. "I've loved every minute of our sisterhood," Connie said. "We asked the group which years of their lives they would relive, and it was surprising how many said college. Clearly, we made some good memories together." Connie still lives in Sioux Falls, and when her husband passed away in 2012, she started volunteering. She has served on multiple committees at her church, helps at the local hospital, and tries to stay active with her family, including five grandchildren and two great- grandkids. Connie still has season tickets to South Dakota football as well as a basketball ticket package, and she happily attends games with her grandkids or loans the tickets to family. page 3 page 3 Alpha Xi Delta Alpha Xi Delta Memories of 214 North Plum Connie Cottington Colwill '66 Shares Her Epsilon Journey ALUMNAE NEWS If you'd like to connect, you can reach Connie at gccolwill@sio.midco.net. 1960s alumnae gather for their 2023 reunion. Connie's wedding party—both on the big day and at the 2023 reunion! From left: Donna Heggelund Jensen '66, Marie Hanson Wheeler '66, Connie Cottington Colwill '66, Carol Lenz Gugat '66, and Elaine Cornelius Sternquist '66.

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