Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • WINTER 2017 • PAN PIPES 7 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z GRACE NOTES Former SAI Board Member Jean Whipple Tyndall Conwell passed away on December 12th in Medford, Oregon. She was initiated by the Gamma Pi Chapter at California State University- Long Beach in 1959. She was most recently affiliated with the International Chapter and served as National Vice President, Extension from 1968-1978. She was awarded the Sword of Honor (1961), the Ruby Sword for Province Leadership (1962), Rose of Honor (1968), and Ring of Excellence (1977). Jean Avis Whipple was born on August 5, 1924 in Fruita, Colorado. She was the second of four children. She grew up in Long Beach, California, received bachelor and master of arts degrees from CSU-Long Beach, and studied voice at the University of Southern California. Jean served as a choral music teacher, counselor, vice principal, and Director of Pupil Services for the Huntington Beach Union High School District for 21 years. She retired in 1984 and was then active in music and community events in Redland, California. Music was an essential part of her life. She directed numerous musicals and concerts as an educator. She also performed as a soloist for churches throughout California, as well as in operas, musicals, and concerts along the west coast. She was a member of many choral groups, performing at venues such as the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, and concert halls in Europe. Jean had a passion for travel, which led her to visit 23 foreign countries and 49 of the 50 states. She was extremely supportive of Sigma Alpha Iota and a generous donor, having underwritten many aspects of past conventions. At the 2009 convention, she presented a check to SAI Philanthropies, Inc. for $5,000, saying that she was honoring her 50 years of membership with $100 per year, and challenged others to do the same. Jean was married three times, to Lester A. Hockney, Dr. Robert E. Tyndall, and finally Dr. John W. Conwell, who was initiated as an SAI Friend of the Arts. Honoring Jean Conwell Jean Tyndall Conwell at age 91 in 2015. At far left, Jean Tyndall presents a Foundation Scholarship to Delta Nu initiate Jessye Norman at the 1968 National Convention. At left, Jean Conwell and husband Friend of the Arts Dr. John Conwell were featured on a 2008 Symphony Society brochure: "We support Philanthropies because we view the wonderful results that are achieved when our young members are given the financial assistance ... to reach some of their goals." T he nation and world mourned the loss of astronaut and Senator John Glenn, who passed in December. Sigma Alpha Iota is connected to his legacy via Annie Castor Glenn, his wife of 74 years and an initiate of Alpha Gamma. Annie graduated Muskingum College in 1942 as an Organ major. She turned down an organ scholarship with Julliard to stay in Ohio with her high school sweetheart John Glenn, then a Second Lieutenant in the Marines who served in the Marshall Islands during World War II. Glenn became the first human to orbit the earth in February 1962, and Annie joined him in a New York ticker-tape parade. From 1974-1999, he represented Ohio as a Senator. Annie suffered from stuttering since childhood and overcame it following treatment in the 1970s at the Communications Research Institute at Virginia's Hollins College. Her success allowed her to speak on numerous occasions during her husband's political campaigns and on her own behalf to speech-therapy organizations. She received the first national award of the American Speech and Hearing Association in 1983; four years later, the group bestowed the first annual Annie Glenn Award for achieving distinction despite a communication disorder. Annie was portrayed in the original novel and film adapation of The Right Stuff, the story of the Mercury 7 astronauts and their families during the space race of the 1960s. She was also a character in the ABC T V series The Astronaut Wives Club. She served as an adjunct professor with The Ohio State University Speech Pathology Department, who awarded her an honorary Doctorate of Public Service in 2009. SAI Annie Glenn: An Advocate for Others In 1962, John Glenn presents his wife Annie with a pin he had made for her and which he snuck aboard his historic orbit of the earth.

• Cover