Willes "Bill" Reeder '59 rushed multiple fraternities upon arriving at Penn State, but ended up joining Phi Sigma Kappa because he liked the guys and the house the best. It was a decision he looks back on with a great sense of satisfaction, even to this day.

Had Bill not joined Phi Sig, his life would be entirely different. He was the social chairman during fall '57 and was in charge of filling the date list for an Alumni weekend. To complete this task he enlisted the help of a girl who was dating Harry Jones '58, named Lois, and ended up going to the party with her. They are still together to this day and Bill insists he would never have met her had he not joined Phi Sig.

This is only one of the many fond memories Bill holds to this day. His most cherished memory involves jacking up the car of the late Robert "Bear" Koehler '58 and putting it on cinder blocks; Bear had no clue as to why his car wouldn't move and Bill believes he would still chuckle over the memory today if he were still around.

Another memory Bill would like to relive occurred during the many Penn State snow storms. Bill and his brothers would go on the roof and throw snowballs at cars driving by on Allen Street. It took a lot of planning to hit a car, but it was always worth it when they did.

Bill also describes a lot of pranks played by him and others at the Phi Sig house. One of his favorites was the midnight stereo prank. This consisted of turning off the stereo in the living room, putting on a loud record and running back to your room before the music came back on. They used vacuum tube stereos, so it took a while for them to warm up, but when it did, the music was blasting and woke everybody up. He also fondly remembers taking Harry Jones for a ride on a pledge trip in the winter and leaving him in the middle of nowhere.

Despite all of the pranks they played on each other, Bill and the rest of his brothers were very close; in fact, many brothers were involved in Bill's wedding. Joe Sullivan '60 was Bill's best man at the wedding and someone Bill would love to hear from.

Aside from goofing around, Bill was an active member in the fraternity, holding multiple positions, including Chapter President and Pledge Chairman. The experience he gained as president, assuming responsibility for the entire fraternity, running chapter meetings, solving problems, etc... proved invaluable for later on in his business experiences and handling a group of people in meetings.

Bill lives in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. with his wife Lois and they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2009. They have four children and seven grandchildren split between Ft. Lauderdale and Athens, GA. Bill is retired but remains busy keeping up with his family.

Brothers can reach Bill at (954) 772-9543 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..