ant), Gordon Piper, Xi ‘26,
m left) Don Piper, Pi 1957 (inf “In a picture circa 1938, (fro r, Pi 1901.”) Marshall Piper, Charles Pipe
PSI UPSILON LEGACIES: The Piper Family By Donald G. Piper, Pi ‘57 (Syracuse)
Upper: Pi Cha pter house, ci rca 1900. Ta possibly one ken by Dr. C of the earliest harles B. Pipe taken after its Lower: Syracu r, it’s construction se Varsity Fo in 1898. otball Team, front row cent 1899. Charl er. From the es Piper Onodagan ye arbook
He revisited the Pi once, circa 1955, during my undergraduate years. This was, and still is, the same place [recently restored] he too had lived in after it’s completion in 1898. He shared stories of what life was like back then, quite different compared to today. My great uncle, Rev. E. Foster Piper, became a lifelong bachelor and Methodist minister following his unsuccessful courting of Sadie Rumrill Taylor, the sister of my grandmother, Lillian Rumrill Piper. My great Aunt Sadie was a tall and stately lady, as was her sister, my grandmother Lillian. Sadie married the founder and owner of the James D. Taylor Construction Co. A former trustee of Syracuse, she lived in an impressive old Victorian, not far from the campus. It even had an elevator. After consulting old records in the Stamford, CT, public library, I learned that for many years Rev Piper led congregations here locally, as well as in Westchester County. He also officiated at my wedding in 1961. Eventually he retired to Milesburg, PA, a
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shortly after I was initiated into Psi Upsilon at Syracuse in the Spring of 1954, I was presented with a ceramic beer mug. On one side was the Pi Chapter crest, and on the other was my unofficial nickname “Legacy”. Back then I was one of five family members who were initiated into Psi U. Today there are a total of eight; four deceased and four still among the living. Here’s a story oft-circulated around my family: that my Grandad, Dr. Charles B. Piper, Pi 1901(Syracuse), when he learned of my birth in October 1935, exclaimed” Hooray for the arrival of a 3rd generation Psi U joining the family!” and proceeded to celebrate with appropriate beverages long into the night. Little did he know then that his prophecy would come true. Curiously, my Grandad, and my Great Uncle, Rev. E .Foster Piper, were both Pi 1901. They were not only blood brothers, but also fraternity brothers. I never did know who was older, but they must have been very close in age. Dr. Charles Blaine Piper retired as Medical Director of Conn. Mutual Life, in the 1950’s. At Syracuse he played varsity football and baseball. Both brothers were Co-Editor’s of the Syracuse yearbook, “The Onodagan”. His family numbered six, and he divided his retirement between residences at Sunset Farms, a private gated community in West Hartford, CT, Pilot Knob, NY, on Lake George, and Altamonte Springs, Florida.
Don Piper I.D. beer mug -showing his nickname, “Legacy”, and the Pi Chapter obverse
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