Plenty of us had romantic flings back at Penn State some of us even discovered our other halves in part because of Phi Sigma Kappa. John B. Lloyd ’62 and his lovely wife have just such a love story. See what John’s wife had to say below:
I am writing for my husband, John B. Lloyd ’62. He was a resident of the Kappa house of Phi Sigma Kappa from September 1960 to April 1962.
John and I went to Behrend College in Erie for the first two years of college. I went into a dorm and John followed friends he had made at Behrend into Phi Sigma Kappa and immediately pledged. We had wonderful times there almost every weekend with dinners after the games and often for breakfast on Sunday.
I got Mono in the spring of 1981 so couldn’t re-enter PSU in September 1961 because my blood count wasn’t acceptable. John continued in his major of accounting at the main campus. I was taking cosmetology courses in Erie so that I could teach that in high school along with my Secondary Education Degree that I planned on continuing at PSU in the fall of 1962 while John worked on a Masters.
Come early April of 1962 we decided we had to be together and planned an elopement that weekend of April 14th (John’s birthday). A brother, Jerry Rochin, drove to Erie and got me and my belongings on Tuesday. On Wednesday we applied for our license, got a minister, and reserved Eisenhower chapel for a Saturday evening ceremony. Afterwards we planned on going back to the fraternity for THE GRAVEDIGGERS BALL. Well unknown to us the brothers changed that party to just the best reception for us. They got the Scotsboro Trio for music, a photographer, cake, decorations and all the brothers dressed up and had dates and showed up at the chapel. They also surprised us with music and flowers at the chapel. A brother, Al Wnuk, and his wife found us an apartment, someone got me a job in the University office starting the next Monday. Married friends supplied our apartment with necessary items to set up our household. Erie brothers notified friends back in Erie what was happening and some were able to come. Brother and president, Tony Fusaro ’62, even arranged for me to use a wedding dress of a recent bride. He was so excited about this and as grateful as I was, I chose to stay with the outfit I had brought. The whole weekend was so perfect and we even went back to the house the next day for the brunch. There are many side stories for this weekend that just made it all so amazingly perfect. I credit the brotherhood of this fraternity for making it so and starting us off on a wonderful life.
We went back to PSU in September 1962 and continued our college career. We lived in Graduate Circle and the fraternity was our social life. John graduated that December and we were now pregnant, so we went back to Erie to work and support our family. John got a job and now knew that rather than a Masters degree he would pursue a CPA degree. In September of 1964 a job opened up in a major accounting firm in Jamestown, NY. By now we had a son, John and a newborn daughter, Christy. We moved to Jamestown and it has been one of the best life choices for us. We are still there. John got his CPA, soon became a Partner and then in 1977 was made Partner in charge of the firm he started with, Seidman and Seidman. By now we had been surprised with twins, Jonah and Erika in 1970 and Jessica in 1976. In 1990, John bought the local office and renamed it Lloyd and Company. In 2014, he merged his firm with another local firm so he could retire. That happened in 2017. We have a great fulfilling life. Penn State is still one of our loves, we still have season football tickets.
All five of our children went to Behrend for the first two years of their college experience. John graduated in 1986, he is married and has three adult children. They live in Dublin, California John is Vice President with Fidelity. His daughter, Melyssa, loved all of her visits to PSU and came from California to attend. She graduated 2003. Christy graduated 1987 with a degree in accounting. She married her college sweetheart, Mickey Brecht. They live near us, she is Controller for Southern Tier Brewing Co. Their two children, Taylor, finished her college years at Behrend and Jake is currently a senior at the main campus. Jonah finished two years at Behrend and graduated from Montana State University. He is a seventh grade teacher in Pocatello Idaho. He is married and has two teenagers, Madeline and Kenny. Erika married a Pittsburgh guy she met at Behrend, Marty McElligott, who went on to Pitt. She graduated PSU and went on to get her law degree. They live in Pittsburgh and have two teenage daughters, Martha and Anna. Martha wants to attend PSU. Jessica graduated Behrend and is married to her college sweetheart, Christian Strub, also a Behrend graduate. They live in Pittsburgh, she is with New York Mellon Bank and have two young daughters, Marley and Cecilia. Marley and Cecilia experienced their first football game, the white out with Michigan last fall. So we now look forward to their attending PSU. We are a fourth generation Penn State family. John was and still is an active and productive resident of Jamestown, holding many important positions with local boards. He is credited with being a very successful, much loved and respected human, in the business world and particularly among his friends and family. We are healthy and happy and looking forward to his 81st birthday and our 58th wedding anniversary this coming April, 14th.
Do you or one of your brothers have a love story that you know began with Penn State Phi Sigma Kappa? Submit an update or email us at [email protected] to share your story!