Mom Pat (1931-2017)

Obituary for Patsy L. Turek

Patsy L. Turek, 85, passed away Friday, February 10, 2017. Memorial service is 2:00 p.m., Thursday, February 16, 2017, at Lincoln Family Funeral Care, 5844 Fremont St. Lincoln, Nebraska.

Patsy L. Turek was born August 22, 1931 in Columbus, Nebraska, the daughter of Leo and Lillian (Geiser) Paprocki. Patsy was a cook at the University of Nebraska and Nebraska Wesleyan University before becoming a house mother at Theta Chi Fraternity (NWU). Patsy was a house mother for 12 years and she loved all of her boys dearly. You could always find Pasty cheering on her two favorite teams, the Nebraska Huskers and Oregon Ducks. She also enjoyed cooking and playing cards, but most importantly, she loved spending time with her family. 

Patsy is survived by her children, Gregory (Eileen) Turek of Bend, OR, Pamela Joekel of Omaha, NE, and Debra (Michael) Michel of Lincoln, NE, grandchildren, Cindy Turek of Lincoln, NE, Erin (Jeremy) Stoll of Omaha, NE, David (Tiffany) Joekel of Omaha, NE, Stephanie (Scott) Wenz of Omaha, NE, Cassie (Randy) Donathan of Fort Gordon, GA, Becca (Randy) Turek-Ross of Germany, Mark Joekel of Minneapolis, MN, Alex (Julia) Turek of Crooked River, OR, Michaela Michel of Lincoln, NE, and Ethan Turek of Bend, OR, and twelve great grandchildren. 

She was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Jack Paprocki, and three sisters, Doris Kentzel, Emogene Walters, and Margy Swalec.

Brothers,
I'm sad to pass along the news that Patsy "Mom Pat" Turek passed away this pst Friday. Mom Pat was the housemother of the Gamma Phi Chapter from 1990-2002 and took care of many of us during her time there - including me, her oldest grandson which made my fraternity experience that much more special. Our family invites any of you who were one of her "boys", or friends, to join us for thefuneral service to honor her and share stories.

The funeral will be this Thursday Feb. 16th - 2pm - at Lincoln Family Funeral Care. 5844 Fremont St, Lincoln, NE. Please share with other brothers not in this group or that may be around your class.

If anyone is interested in gathering at the Chapter house following the service, we may have an informal remembrance or quick ceremony for those that are able. Stay tuned for more details on that.

This picture is from a "Prom" held recently at her retirement home, I thought it was fitting as you all know she never missed a party and loved celebrating with us. So we'll do it one more time with Mom Pat.

If you can't join us, please consider sharing a story or memory in the comments below - or email me at David.joekel@gmail.com so we can share them during the service.

David "Forrest" Joekel '02

Mom Pat Memorial fund

2015/2016 James Ralph 'Shug' Jordan Award Announced | Theta Chi

Posted by: Kris Taibl  | Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Theta Chi Fraternity Announces 2015/2016 James Ralph ‘Shug’ Jordan Award

Carmel, IN – Theta Chi Fraternity is proud to announce Connor Bohlken (Gamma Phi/Nebraska Wesleyan 2016) as the 2015/2016 recipient of the James Ralph ‘Shug’ Jordan Award. This distinction honors a brother who demonstrates excellence as a scholar-athlete.

Brother Bohlken competed for his university’s track and cross country team, lettering in both all four years, mirroring Shug Jordan’s athletic acumen. Connor’s speed on the track qualified him multiple times for both the indoor and outdoor Great Plains Athletic Conference Championships. His passion for his team went beyond the normal call of action. Connor’s chapter brothers recount seeing him “frequently…escorting potential recruits around campus giving tours.”  Leadership like this earned Connor the Cross Country Leadership Award during the 2015 school year.
While many student athletes would have been satisfied with being at the top of their sport, Connor strived for equal success in the classroom earning a cumulative GPA of 3.74. As a promising student athlete, Connor was awarded the Great Plains Athletic Conference Pflieger-Olsen Scholar-Athlete Award. Brother Bohlken was also a member of the following honor societies while in college: Huge Society for Scholars and Leaders, Blue Key Honor Society, Society of Scholars, Order of Omega, Kappa Mu Epsilon Mathematics Honor Society, and Sigma Pi Sigma Physics Honor Society. Consistent success could be witnessed in both his athletics and academics, earning at least 3.6 GPA each semester as well as making the Academic Honor List (GPA of 3.75 and up) at least one time each academic year.
While Connor’s academic achievements are quite impressive they become even more astonishing when one learns that he achieved them while double majoring in mathematics and physics, with minors in philosophy and religion; a feat he completed in just four years.
Connor could have easily won this award off his academic and athletic success alone, but as Connor’s chapter brothers put it, “Connor has been a tireless champion of Theta Chi Fraternity. He is without a doubt the model Theta Chi in our chapter.” During his time in the Fraternity, Connor served as the Scholarship Chairman, Chapter Treasurer, and Chapter President for two terms. Connor also founded and served as the first Vice President of Scholarship on his university’s Interfraternity Council.
Brother Jordan once said when asked about being an underdog, “Always remember… Goliath was a 40-point favorite over little David.” When Brother Bohlken’s chapter encountered dwindling numbers and apathy, he exemplified Brother Jordan’s “never-say-die” attitude. In the fall of 2014 he orchestrated an intense recruitment effort that increased chapter numbers by 92% and led the men to raise nearly $10,000 through fundraisers to fix the chapter house. Connor’s chapter brothers have said “this chapter may not have been here today had it not been for Connor’s strong leadership.”
Outside of his academics, athletics, and fraternal involvement Connor also found time to act as Wesleyan Math Club President and Senior Class President. A living example of Theta Chi’s motto, the Assisting Hand, Connor spent time volunteering as a teaching fellow with the Breakthrough Kent Denver Program, university tutor, a member of Habitat for Humanity, and Nebraska Wesleyan’s Snow Angels Program; a group of students that shovel snow for elderly residents of Lincoln during the winter. It is no surprise that Connor was recognized with the Greek Emerging Leader Award as a freshman and Homecoming King as a senior.

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 The Shug Jordan Award is named in honor and memory of Brother James Ralph “Shug” Jordan, of Chi Chapter at Auburn University, who served as Auburn’s head football coach from 1951 to 1975. Brother Jordan’s team went undefeated in the 1957 season and won that year’s National Championship.

The Grand Chapter created the Shug Jordan Award in 1996 to honor the scholar-athlete who best exemplifies the qualities of leadership, citizenship, academics, brotherhood, loyalty to alma mater, and commitment to excellence in intercollegiate athletics.

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Founded in 1856, Theta Chi Fraternity is a men’s collegiate fraternity with more than 180,000 initiated members and has established 235 chapters. Leadership development, personal development, and service to alma mater are fundamental to Theta Chi Fraternity’s mission.

Alumni/Actives Workdays 2016

ALUMNI/ACTIVES WORKDAYS

August 11th-14th 2016

We need your help. If only for a couple hours or if you have all weekend. Any experience level is needed, from painting, gardening and cleaning to carpentry, plumbing and electrical. Show up and bring your tools, we will have some on site for you to use. Each day we will start at 9 a.m. Keep up to date on the Facebook page.

Alumni/Active Workdays punch list

• Replace/Repair faucets in kitchen and several bathrooms
• Replace/Repair toilets in several bathrooms
• Install door trim/molding in basement officer's cubicles and library
• Painting - walls, ceilings, sprinkler pipes
• House manager's room organizing - pictured below, we have expanded the room and are placing shelving and a locking door to keep house maintenance items secure and accessible.
• Drywall repair in chapter room
• Demolition of cubicles West side. Foundation repair was done over 10 years ago and by removing the cubicles we will have better access to the wall for inspection and upkeep. Future plans are to install secure storage lockers for the actives.
• A dumpster will be on site for construction material and broken couches.
• Re-caulk windows. Room #1 was replaced last fall (double-pane energy efficient), all the others will be replaced as soon as funding is available (cost is $1,000 each).
• Landscaping - Adding mulch around the house and pruning the bushes as well as weeding.

Capital Improvements being done before Alumni/Active Workdays

• Southeast security door replacement - $2,500
• South & East side gutter installation - $2,100
• French drain installation on East side - $1,000

If you can not make it to the workdays but would still like to help on a project you can click on the button below. By donating a little we can almost triple that money by doing the work ourselves. If there is a certain project you would like to fund please let us know and we will get that upgraded right away.

Any questions? Contact:
Steve Wylie '65
stephen.r.wylie@gmail.com
405-359-0534