The Nile's Current

DSP Annual Alumni Meeting to take place during the LMU Almnui BBQ on Sept. 24, 2023

GREETINGS, BROTHERS: WE HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT: The ANNUAL DELTA SIGMA PHI ALUMNI ASSOCIATION MEETING will be taking place during this year's Loyola Marymount University (LMU) Alumni BBQ on Sunday, September 24, 2023. MEETING TIME: 11:30 AM PLACE: "THE LIVING ROOM" meeting room on campus at LMU. This is on the first floor of the Malone Student Center, next to the Lion's Den Coffee Shop. There will be a quick update by the Delta Mu Alumni Control Board, along with a report from the current Delta Mu Chapter President, Christian Morcus. Plus, it would be great to visit with fellow Alumni before hitting the LMU BBQ! And, if you didn't already know, we will have our own Delta Sigma Phi table/space at the Alumni BBQ. If you haven't already done so, you can register for the Alumni BBQ AT THIS LINK.

At the request of our friend & brother, George Miller, who usually sends out these announcements, please let us know if you are planning to attend. This is the list of attendees so far:

Mario Artavia Steve Brunette Jim Ford Burt Kohler Ron L'Huereux George Miller Robert Scuderi Tom Scuderi Andrew Sierra Patrick Wade Bob Bushelman Ben Menuccuci Chuck Preston Ron Rodarte Bill Ventura

“Our Delta Sig brotherhood has lost one of our best.  Brother Bob Mathes passed from us two days ago on Monday, May 22.  Bob's daughter Catherine informed Hal Hauck of the sad news.  Our hearts and prayers go out to Catherine, Bob's son Peter, and Bob's partner Francine O'Connor.

Bob was quite simply one of the most genuinely nice people we ever met.  He was a great brother (aka "Lurch") -- a person who reached out to many of us in support when times were tough or when situations became dicey.  I was fortunate to get to know Bob even better after the summer of 1968 (after many of you had graduated from Loyola), when Bob and Tom Murphy invited me to join them in a condo rental in Playa del Rey.  Dave Zuercher would later make our condo renters a quartet.  During those months, we were fortunate to get to know Bob better -- savor his cooking, appreciate his taste for fine music, and thoroughly enjoy his company and friendship.

In the 1968, Bob was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force.  The following year he was deployed to Vietnam.  You can read Bob's story in his own words by opening the attachment at the end of this email that was extracted from our 50-year anniversary book.

Bob spent a lot of time in helping organize the 50-year party that was held at the San Antonio Winery in Los Angeles during September, 2018.  He was key to finding some of our brothers with whom we had lost contact.  Bob never said so, but we suspected he leaned on some of his U.S. government intelligence sources.

Bob's obit was carried this week in the Chicago Tribune.  Click on this link. There was a service for Bob on Thursday, May 25 at the Smith-Corcoran funeral home in Chicago.  He was later interred at Arlington National Cemetery.

We may not likely again cross paths with such a fine individual as Robert (Bob) Schumacher Mathes.  Rest in peace, brother Bob.  Your legacy is secured, and we will carry your memory for the rest of our days.”

YITBOS, Hal Hauck '68 John Moutes '68

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OBITUARY

Robert “Bob” Schumacher Mathes, of Oak Park, IL died on Monday, May 22, 2023, due to complications from multiple myeloma.

Bob was born in Quincy, Illinois on December 6, 1946, the only child of Robert and Gertrude Mathes (née Schumacher). His family moved to southern California when he was a child and he graduated from Claremont High School in Claremont, California in 1964. He went on to study history at Loyola University of Los Angeles, where he was a member of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity (Delta Mu Chapter). He graduated in 1968 and was commissioned into the Air Force the following year.

Bob arrived in Saigon as a newly minted intelligence officer in June 1970, where he served for one year. He served a second deployment in Thailand in 1972, where he briefed and de-briefed flight crews. There were many combat losses in that period, which Bob would carry with him throughout his life. After serving with the 509th Bomb Wing at Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire, he retired from active duty in July 1974. He was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service during the war. He subsequently served 22 years in the Air National Guard, retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Bob earned a Master’s Degree in social work from the University of Chicago and enjoyed a fulfilling career at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) until his retirement in 2017. For many years, he oversaw readjustment counseling services at Vet Centers across the Midwest. A late career return to direct practice allowed Bob to engage his true passion for getting people to talk about themselves. He loved learning about people, where they were from, what made them tick, and how they saw themselves and he was skilled at getting people to open up almost immediately. This was true inside and outside the counseling context.

Though he retired from the VA in 2017, his interest in helping people never diminished. After he retired, he was proud to serve as English tutor at the Aquinas Literacy Center, a community-based organization serving immigrants in Chicago. He spoke with reverence about his students and their ability to overcome personal hardship and make new lives for their families in the United States.

Bob’s commitment to service was central to his identity and shaped the trajectory of his professional life. He was once and always a military man, and it was in the military that he formed some of his most cherished relationships. As a counselor, he loved connecting with other veterans and felt deeply about the human capacity to persevere through adversity. He also felt loss deeply because he understood personally the burdens carried by those who have been to war, even long after returning home. He talked openly about his own struggles adapting back to civilian life and about the friends and classmates he lost during the war in Vietnam. Through his candor and empathy he was able to help others who had gone through similar experiences.

An avid traveler and a self-described “nerd,” Bob loved to see the world, read books on world events and history, and meet people from different cultures. Asia held a special place in his heart. Traveling to Vietnam later in life allowed him the chance to form positive personal connections and to see a thriving, vibrant country so different from the one he experienced at war. These trips brought him an important sense of peace and closure.

When he wasn’t eagerly researching his next overseas adventure, he enjoyed watching tennis, reading up on cars, following new shows on public television, seeing productions at the Northlight Theatre, and taking his daily three-mile walk. He followed politics and world events closely, and was always up for a good debate. Due in part to the pandemic, late in life he discovered a passion for cooking, and enjoyed preparing meals for himself and his partner Francine.

Bob is survived by his two children, Catherine Mathes (Derek Sandhaus) and Peter Mathes, and Francine O’Connor.

A memorial will be held from 5-8pm on Thursday, May 25 with service starting at 7:00pm at Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home at 6150 N Cicero Ave, Chicago, IL (773-736-3833). Details to follow on military interment.

Congrats to LMU Delta Sig, Leonardo Gonzalez Smith, who was honored as LMU’s 2021 Program Scholar for Biology. See the LMU Student Spotlight post about him at this link: https://admission.lmu.edu/about/studentspotlight/leonardogonzalez-smith/

Feb. 1, 1949 - June 30, 2020

Our Delta Mu Brother, Walter J. Hogan died from complications of cancer on June 30th.

From The Press Enterprise:

Part of the annual Delta Mu Alumni Meeting on Sunday, September 22, 2019, consisted of the ACB honoring Brother John Dennis Cosgrove for lifelong service and dedication to the Delta Sigma Phi chapter at LMU. He was given a plaque honoring him, by ACB President, Scott Cunningham.

Here are some of John’s accomplishments and highlights, as presented during the meeting by Brother John Moutes ‘66 (seen above):

Delta Mu Charter Member, October 19, 1958

Chapter President, 1960-61, lead 58 brothers and was ably supported by Darryl Bartolotti (VP), Chuck Preston (Treasurer), Sam La Sala (Secretary) and Tim Shea (Social Chair).

John would also serve as Chair of Loyola's Greek Week that featured a nationally popular folk group called the "Limeliters."  The chapter took on the responsibility for ensuring the financial success of the concert.  John spent most of his time during the concert under the stage as a sound engineer.

At the conclusion of Greek Week, there was a giant party at the house where John met an attractive sorority coed in Theta Iota Pi from Immaculate Heart College, Shirley McLing, who would later become Mrs. John Cosgrove.

Throughout his presidency, John credits his two "rocks" George Miller and Tim Shea (both civil engineering majors) for their dependability and support.

Under John's leadership, the chapter won Loyola's "Spring Sing" that year teamed with St. Vincent's College of Nursing, receiving the only curtain call of the evening.

John would later serve in Delta Mu ACB in the early 1990s and again when the chapter was re-launched in 2013.

Perhaps John's most enduring legacy on behalf of the chapter was an assignment that he and fellow brother Tim Shea undertook in the spring of 1959 when they found the fraternity house at 6819 Pacific Avenue. Time permitting, I will read a few excerpts from the chapter's history -- "The First 90 Years".

"As some of you know we had a fraternity house at a beach-front address that filled a vital need for Delta Sigma Phi -- a home for our social and cultural events and for a number of our brothers starting in 1959. It was a house unlike what any other fraternity had at LMU. Lest the history is lost with time we are pleased to share some of it and a few stories of early life at this place. "To begin, in a moment of bravado brothers Cosgrove and Shea volunteered to find some sort of residence for the fraternity, and after looking over the sorry offerings of apartments around Westchester we happened upon a boarded-up former beach club – founded in 1931 by Fritz Burns as the Del Rey Swim Club. "We used nefarious means to enter the boarded up place, and when inside we found a near-derelict two-story structure with an upstairs bar on the street side, a covered dance floor surrounded with windows overlooking the beach on the backside, a sorry looking kitchen with a dining hall on the right front, four or five rooms that could accommodate brothers, and two restrooms with showers.  Most of the windows were broken, but as you can see from the photo it was a sturdy place perfect for our needs. "We soon learned that the property belonged to the Fritz Burns Foundation, and was on a perfect stretch of beach.  Mr. Burns was the major developer of Westchester and a long-time benefactor of Loyola Marymount University.  His Foundation was contacted by two of our more "refined" brothers, Joe Dunnigan (LMU-1960) and Bill Schauppner (LMU-1958), and they handled the delicate negotiations on behalf of the fraternity.  The Foundation was quickly convinced that our tenancy would be beneficial for them.  Brother Bob Martini (LMU-1960) then stepped in to assure the Foundation that we were creditworthy and well behaved.  [Ed. Note: an awesome undertaking.] "We then set to work to make the place habitable with Cosgrove on electrical engineering and the civil engineers on the toilets, we soon realized that the City Inspector would have to approve our work.   Much to our relief, we learned the City Inspector for our neighborhood was brother Jim Mitsch’s (LMU-1960) father, a patient man as I recall.  Somehow we got the approvals needed and the first residents moved in that fall."

Above text written by John Cosgrove and Tim Shea fore "The First 90 Years."

Brother and close friend of John’s, Jim Ford ‘60 (above) spoke about John. He was John’s roommate at the Chapter House. Brother Jim related how Brother John was always the one to enthusiastically rouse the members to action whenever he came up with a plan of action.

Another stalwart friend, Brother George Miller (above, left), also got up to pay tribute to Brother John. He spoke about commuting to Loyola University (as it was known back then) with John, from Glendale, as sophomores and juniors. He recounted how John had to face the Dean several times for the actions of the Chapter, while he was it’s President - the reasons why, he would not get into at this time, lol.

On the phone (held up by Brother John Moutes in the above photo), was another close friend of John’s, Brother Tim Shea. Brother Shea spoke about how John taught him how much more you can do as part of a team, than as an individual, and how this lesson guided and helped him throughout his career and adult life.

Brother John was presented with the ACB Plaque of Recognition, by Scott Cunningham, the went on to say a few wonderful words.

On Sunday, September 22, 2019, the ACB conducted the Annual Delta Mu Alumni Meeting, during the annual LMU Alumni BBQ. It was held in St. Roberts and conducted by ACB President Scott Cunningham. Topics discussed were the State of the Chapter (discussed by Chapter President, Adam Greger), the State of the ACB (discussed by ACB President, Scott Cunningham), Convention 2019 (by Chapter Advisor, Erik Nordquist), Delta Mu Digital Information (discussed by ACB Secretary, Mario Artavia). Brother John Savage spoke about the donation goal to be able to send 20 Actives to the next Delta Sigma Phi Convention in 20121, which will be here in Los Angeles. The ACB also honored Delta Mu Alumni, John Cosgrove, for all of his years of service, both as an undergrad and as an Alumni, to the Delta Mu Chapter of Delta Sigma Phi (please see the separate BLOG post about John’s award). Afterward, the Brothers posed for the annual Delta Sig picture in front of Sacred Heart Cathedral, before moving on to food and drinks at the LMU Alumni BBQ. It was, as always, great to hang with fellow brothers for the day. Pictures below for your enjoyment.

It was a great day for our annual Delta Mu Alumni Meeting.

ACB President, Scott Cunningham, conducting the meeting.

Chapter President, Adam Greger, giving his report.

Delta Mu Alumni and Actives, at the meeting.

John Cosgrove, receiving special recognition from the ACB. (Click here to see the other BLOG post about John)

Alumni John Moutes and Frank Ramirez, speaking about Delta Sigma Phi.

80′s Brothers, and past Chapter Presidents, Frank Ramirez (left) and Mario Artavia (right); these two both went to the 1989 Delta Sig Convention in Phoenix, AZ.

This past Saturday, September 21, 2019, the Delta Mu Class of 1969 had a great 50th Anniversary reunion. It was held in the Heritage Cellar private room, at the San Antonio Winery in Los Angeles. Brother Dennis McLaughlin MC’d the gathering. Other Brothers present got up and spoke about their memories from that era, as well as the bonds of brotherhood throughout the years afterward. ACB President Scott Cunningham, as well Adam Greger, current President of the Active Chapter at LMU, also spoke. A wonderful buffet, accompanied by San Antonio wines and drinks also added to the good time that was had by all.

Below are some photos from the event.

Congrats go out to current DELTA MU ACB President, Scott Cunningham, for receiving a 2019 MTV MUSIC AWARD for CINEMATOGRAPHY! This was for his work on the video entitled, “Señorita”, starring Shawn Mendes and Camilla Cabello. This is Scott’s second MTV Cinematography Award. To see the 2019 award-winning video, please click here. Great job, Scott!