Phi Delta Theta - Iowa State University

PHI DELTA THETA FRATERNITY 3 Jay R. Andrews 1349 In memory of his family Steve Dodge 1389 Jill and Doug Struyk 1426 Todd M. Kennedy 1463 Greg P. Nuss 1502 Joshua A. Ehlen 1630 Brad Becker 1636 Steve Good 1645 Andrew C. Lack 1680 Peter E. Arentson 1740 John A. Garretson 1747 Zach W. Laudner 1762 Iowa Gamma Undergraduate Chapter PARTICIPANT (Up to $999) Julio C. Espada Hoffman Family Gift Nancy Hoffman Thomas Hoffman Becky Sass In memory of Edward G. Hoffman 649 Gini Stoddard In memory of Joseph S. Stoddard 377 Arnold W. Anderson 465 James R. Miller 476 Robert J. Paugh 503 In honor of the 1948 Harvard Trophy Bunch Tom Grundman 504 Bernard "Bud" Everett 515 George R. Colthurst 521 Richard A. Pape 538 John R. Nelson 546 William V. Hukill 554 Rogene C. Arney 590 Bruce H. Wyma 624 In memory of Richard S. Evans 629 Larry Herbold 637 In memory of Ed Hoffman 649 William D. Speer 648 In memory of Ed Hoffman 649 Hal W. Dotts 705 Joe G. Grant 718 Allen N. Bolte 730 Dick Bruner 755 In memory of Bill Gibb 735 Lee O. Lownsberry 766 In memory of Daniel F. Bernard 803 Gary Nelson 773 Bruce E. Byers 776 James R. Adelman 787 In memory of W. Russ Reddick Jr. 793 and Charles W. Laughlin 772 Gary L. Lust 800 James B. Maland 839 In honor of Pledge Class of 1962 James L. Phelps 893 Charles G. Whitley Jr. 902 In memory of William C. Whitley 986 Greg A. Peterschmidt 935 Steven J. Ovel 936 Gerry D. Minear 942 Thomas R. Green 1024 Max F. Heintz 1055 Larry D. Graves 1062 In honor of Sue Hayes Jeff B. Humiston 1066 In memory of Mable Bartkowski Jeffrey R. Kacena 1070 Grant A. Gustafson 1132 Mark C. Miller 1149 Cameron C. Dubes 1158 In honor of Brian Stebbins 1164 In memory of Brad Huebner 1225 Chris W. Cunningham 1161 Dennis D. Tiffany 1173 Jeff J. Schulz 1183 Jerry R. King Jr. 1184 Don Gallagher 1187 Craig P. Tatro 1205 Daniel E. Hazen 1226 In memory of Brad Huebner 1225 Randy L. Ramundt 1233 Fred M. Wilson 1243 Craig E. Ellingson 1252 Richard S. Pickett 1257 Crystal and Cary Miller 1292 Brett C. Barr 1309 Bob Meinhold 1334 Martin M. Petersen 1343 Bob Franke 1351 Brett A. Buechele 1383 Curtis J. Ford 1398 Brad Scheideman 1401 Gene Denny 1411 In honor of the Pledge Class of 1987 Eric T. Floyd 1425 Kirk M. Oliver 1427 Aaron G. Bruner 1430 Todd J. Mick 1433 Brian P. May 1436 Chad R. Bennett 1474 Jay P. Kilby 1541 William C. Heuer 1550 Eric K. Paisley 1556 Cathy and Michael Mores 1562 Allan J. Hammell 1647 Matthew E. Lind 1649 Ben Mauer 1653 Jennifer and Cory M. Hanson 1699 Christopher W. Deal 1700 Peter Wolf 1703 Scott R. Groh 1719 Robert Deal 1734 Tyler Cronk 1736 Matthew Schnabel 1739 Eric T. Snyder 1760 E ric Wheeler 769 has a 55-year relationship with Phi Delta Theta. In that time, he has made lifelong friends, learned invaluable life lessons, and graciously given back, supporting future generations of Phi Delts. An incoming freshman from La Crosse, Wisconsin (roughly 250 miles from Ames), Eric didn't know a soul at Iowa State. Earlier that summer, he'd received a letter from Jack Hansen 742 introducing himself and inviting him to visit Phi Delta Theta. "To this day, I have no idea how he got my name," said Eric. "After going through recruitment that fall, I felt I had more in common with the men from Phi Delta Theta than the other fraternities from which I received bids. They were interested in me and made me feel at home, which for a shy guy like me living so far away, was great." Iowa Gamma taught Eric a lot about opening up socially, getting along with others, and leadership. "I think back on my time at Iowa Gamma and what a good experience it was. I hear a lot of fraternities getting bad press today, but what a great thing it was to have, in our case, 75-80 men living together, making their own decisions, electing their own leaders, making and enforcing their own rules; running a small business of sorts. There were so many good experiences and life lessons that come out of that, I look back on that time as a really important period for all of us who were there and went through it." Eric's pledge class is still close today, reuniting every two years in various locations across the country. For the last 12 years, a group of 20-25 alumni and their wives have traveled to Branson, Missouri; Asheville, North Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; Tucson, Arizona; San Diego, California; and Seattle, Washington. "David Ringsmuth 784 lives in Romania and has made it to every reunion so far! The next will take place in Portland, Oregon, in 2016. I don't live near any Phi Delts since I've moved back to La Crosse, so these reunions are very special." The concept of brotherhood resonates with Eric. As a freshman in the fall of 1959, he remembers a fairly new addition to the house, maybe two or three years old at the time. It didn't occur to him then that somebody had to pay for that and those people were alumni. Men he had never, and probably would never, meet. Now it's Eric's turn to give back. "For those alumni, they felt it was their turn to do something for the organization that gave them so much. Now I can do the same. The young men who will benefit from my gift will probably never meet me either or know who I am, but they will benefit from alumni support just like I did." "Now is the time to give back. There's not going to be a better opportunity and it's the price you pay now for the brotherhood you shared 55 years ago. There is a great group of men in Iowa Gamma today. They're keeping the honor and traditions of Phi Delta Theta alive and well. They deserve our support." Eric graduated with a degree in architecture from Iowa State. He practiced architecture with several firms and even taught architecture at ISU for several years, and later at the University of Minnesota. Now retired, Eric spent the last 20 years of his career working at an architecture firm in La Crosse. He and his wife of 48 years, Vicki, have two children and five grandchildren. Eric plays as much as golf as he can and also enjoys reading, building furniture in his woodworking shop, and traveling. You can contact Eric at wheels2359@gmail.com. Building a Better Iowa Gamma: Eric Wheeler 769 Gives Back Make a gift online at www. iowastatephis. com!

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