Howard Alter Memorial Service in Philadelphia on July 17th

Howard R. Alter Jr. '41

Greetings brothers and friends,

As a fraternity, we have lost one of our best to the Chapter Eternal. In honor and celebration of the life of Howard Alter, we are planning a memorial service and public ritual that will be held during the Friday evening session of Chapter Leadership Conference XIII. This very meaningful fraternity event will be held on Friday, July 17, 2009, at 8:00 pm in St. Thomas of Villanova Church located on the campus of Villanova University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The service is open to all undergraduate and alumnus members of the Fraternity, as well as our guests. Howard’s life and service is a rich reminder of Theta Chi for life. Truly, Howard’s kindness and helping hand touched each of us in a remarkable way. During the evening, we will step back in time and journey through Howard’s tenure of fraternity leadership. We will remember again and drink deeply from his wisdom. We will mourn his passing into the Chapter eternal. And, we will celebrate just as Howard would have us do. A noteworthy group of gifted men have stepped forward in planning an event that will prove rich to our lives and our fraternity. Please join us for this special occasion.

Since Howard’s passing, there have been many stories and thoughts exchanged about our beloved brother. In addition to planning the memorial service, we are hoping to receive from you many letters, emails, reflections, stories, and pictures that honor his profound influence on our fraternity and brotherhood. Because of their historical significance, I want to collect those items and organize them for our archives. Also, those reflections and stories will prove invaluable as we plan Howard’s memorial service at CLC. Please do not hesitate to share your thoughts with each of us. 

The logistical information for attending the memorial service can be found at Thetachi.org. There, you will find a campus map, driving instructions, Philadelphia airport information, hotel details, and information about campus parking (including a free parking permit across the street from the church). I think you will find the trip to be an easy one for many of you. I encourage you to plan early for transportation and hotel needs. 

Because the memorial service will be held in conjunction with the Chapter Leadership Conference, we also invite you to attend our closing banquet on Saturday, July 18 at 7:00 pm. This popular event will allow you to join the Grand Chapter, dozens of alumnus volunteers, hundreds of undergraduate brothers, and the International Headquarters staff for an evening of brotherhood rarely experienced in Theta Chi. If you would like to attend our closing banquet (and you are not a participant/faculty at the conference), please register at thetachi.org—follow the link for the Howard Alter Memorial where you will find details about our Saturday activities for alumni. The cost of attending the closing banquet is $40. We hope your travel plans will allow you to attend both weekend events.

Again, we hope you are able to join us as we honor the life of our brother Howard Alter. 

Fraternally,

Shawn Bennett, MA, MAPP

Director of Learning and Development

Theta Chi Fraternity International Headquarters