FINAL NOTES AN N G EIL ER, P H I T H ETA , ST. LO U I S A LU M N I STL A LU M N I M P E @ G MA I L .CO M
Marilyn Dixon Altrock Dietrichs Beta Tau, May 1928 Died February 25, 2021 Vocalist, Marilyn graduated from Lasell College in 1947 and studied music and voice at Boston University, the Juilliard School, and Brevard Summer Music Camp. She was a lyric soprano and sang roles with the Atlanta Opera Company and with the Atlanta Opera Arts. She performed concerts in the Southeast, including performances at the Symphony Hall Memorial Arts Center with Robert Shaw conducting, the Governor’s Mansion, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, Chastain Park Amphitheatre, the Pro-Mozart Society of Atlanta, and numerous college campuses. In 1978, she founded the Atlanta Repertory Opera Company in Atlanta, offering a performing opera vehicle for many rising singing artists in the Southeast. As founder and artistic director, she was also the president of the Trustees for four years. The AROC mounted 60 major box office opera performances in Atlanta from 1978 through 1990, including a number of concerts presented in the Georgia Public School System. Marilyn was an active member of the Pro-Mozart Society of Atlanta after joining in 1966 and served as president for 3 years. She served as president of the Atlanta Alumni chapter for 3 years. She was a lifelong member of the Christian Science church and served as a soloist for many years as Second Reader and in numerous other capacities in several branch churches in the metro-Atlanta area. She composed a book of religious songs, “Soloist Concordance,” for church soloists. Marilyn was listed in International Who’s Who in Music. Morlitha Zwannella Dukuly Phi Tau, February 7, 1993 Died January 12, 2021 Flute, Music Therapy, Morlitha studied at the University of North Texas, Denton, and received a degree in music from Texas Woman’s University, Denton, in 2019. 24 MuPhiEpsilon.org
She was in her second semester of studying for her master’s degree in music therapy when she passed away. Her primary instrument was flute, and being an avid music lover, she learned to play the piccolo, guitar and ukulele. She loved working with children and devoted much of her time to working with them. Morlitha had an outgoing personality and when she was not involved with music, she loved watching movies, shopping and crocheting. Rosemarie (Hinman) Foster Phi Rho, February 19, 1930 Died February 6, 2021 Vocalist, Rosemarie was a musically trained vocalist. She was in the former evening chapter of the Minneapolis-St. Paul chapter and continued in the joint chapter when the two merged some years ago. She loved to sing in the choir at Bethany and Bloomington Covenant Churches. June (Foreman) Gwyn Kappa, November 13, 1945 Died November 24, 2018 Educator, Vocalist, June graduated from Southport High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She received her bachelor’s degree from the Jordan School of Music at Butler University. June taught music for many years in public schools and retired in 1974. Since the 1940s, she and her husband were the leaders in the choir, and her trained soprano voice provided inspiration for many years in the solos she sang. She is still remembered fondly by students whom she taught more than 50 years ago at Fall Creek Elementary School in Indianapolis. Elaine Frances (Thalman) Hall Xi, Jan. 20, 1926 Died November 23, 2020 Pianist, Elaine attended the University of Kansas where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in the with a major in music in 1947. She was the head secretary of the Council on Teacher Education in the
College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and was a leader of the Civil Engineering Wives Group. In 2004, she and her husband established within the University of Illinois Foundation the William J. and Elaine F. Hall Endowed Professorship in Civil and Environmental Engineering. As an accomplished pianist, her many volunteer activities included the performance of music programs for nursing and retirement homes and other organizations. With a duet partner, she performed lecture recitals on composers for various groups. Elaine was a member of the Urbana-Champaign Alumni chapter and was featured in the Winter 2020 issue of The Triangle in recognition of being a member of Mu Phi Epsilon for 70 years. Dr. Nelita (True) Laires Gamma, 1936 Died January 17, 2021 Piano, Educator, According to Clavier Companion magazine, Nelta was “one of the world’s most sought-after and beloved pianist-teachers.” Since she made her debut at age 17 with the Chicago Symphony in Orchestra Hall and her New York debut with the Juilliard Orchestra in Avery Fisher Hall, her career took her to the major cities of Western and Eastern Europe, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Mexico, Iceland, New Zealand, Brazil, Australia, Canada, India, and to Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as to all 50 states in the U.S. She was a visiting professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia, where she performed and conducted masterclasses, and traveled to the People’s Republic of China more than 20 times for recitals and masterclasses. She was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Michigan as a student of Helen Titus, studied with Sascha Gorodnitzki at the Juilliard School and earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree with Leon Fleisher at
