Luckily for Marianne, she stayed connected to the sisterhood after graduating and always paid her dues, which led to the serendipitous meeting of her late husband, George. After an Alpha Chi meeting one night, a sister’s husband said to Marianne’s soon-to-be-husband, “Marianne Rogers was at our house last night for an Alpha Chi meeting. You should call her up!” That’s all it took, and the rest was history. Marianne and George celebrated 65 wonderful years of marriage together and have three children: Amy, Beth and Lori.

As an only child who grew up on a farm in northeast Kansas, having the opportunity to surround herself with so many amazing women was life-changing. Thanks to her cousin, Marianne was inspired to look into Alpha Chi. For four years, Marianne lived at the chapter house at KU on Oread. “I made wonderful friends throughout my life there. We also had two housemothers, and they were like our moms away from home.” 

With 75 years of Alpha Chi memories, one of her favorite events was the 1949 National Convention at the Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, California. The Union Pacific Railroad had a special train car for 200-300 Alpha Chi women decorated with red carnations. “We had stops in Idaho and Las Vegas,” Marianne recalls. “They had all kinds of fun activities and contests going on. It was quite an experience and I met girls from all over the United States.”

To this day, Marianne is still a fan of train travel, and throughout her life has enjoyed many rides, even overseas. In her independent living home, she enjoys playing the piano every other Tuesday at chapel service. Other interests include reading and she’s a Scrabble pro, careful to always keep a list of two-letter words that are accepted when she plays her family, including her grandsons, when they visit.