The Spring 2010 edition of To Dragma, our fraternity's magazine, featured a Phi alumna and long time Kansas City Alumnae Chapter member in the Letter to the Editor.
Mariellen Sasseen's letter was about senses- our sense of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch, along with how our senses shape our perceptions.
She shared the following:
I'd like to share with you something I recently read that touched my heart. I opened a package that conained a scrapbook of Mary Theroff's 1981 Kansas City Convention experience and her obituary. The obituary began, as most do, by announcing the date of her death and her hometown. The next two sentences read: "She attended Bishop Ward HIgh School and the Univeristy of Kansas where she earned bachelors and masters degrees. She remained active in the alumnae group of her sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi, all her life." I often see AOII acknowledged in obituaries, but I can never recall seeing it listed ahead of so many other important facts. Before listing that Mary was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, loyal church member, avid bridge player and world traveler, it acknowledged that she was a lifelong AOII.
Of course, Mariellen nor any of us believe that the wording implies that AOII was more important to Mary than her family. But clearly, her family knew that AOII was important to her and that this is how she would want to be remembered.
Mary was a member of our alumnae chapter for many years, and we're proud that she was recognized in our international publication.
How would your family perceive your life? Would they understand the importance of AOII in your life?