Cha te Eter a
chapter’s successes...and our friendship. Throughout Wayne’s years as a professional in student affairs at Delta State, we remained in touch and visited when we could. Our profes- sional lives came together when I was President of Delta State during his nal years as Vice President for Student Affairs, and we navigated many issues and challenges together in Cabinet discussions and on campus. It was my honor to name Blansett Hall on campus as a tribute to his service to Delta State. Wayne touched thousands of lives during his exemplary service to Delta State and its stu- dents. The assistance, support, and counsel he provided for decades of students have resulted in an untold number of testimonials about “how Dr. B helped” a student. He was a beloved leader for his students. Wayne loved Delta State and served it with great success for many years. His dedication to the university, its mission, and especially its students was remarkable. He served with distinction. More than anything, I will miss him as a friend and brother. Rest in peace, little brother!” Even when times were grim, Bodine found ways to change the mood: put on a song (he was also a local radio DJ in college), say something pithy, make sure the group had a good time. When informed of Kevin’s passing, one Gamma Delta brother said it well: “Back in those days, Kevin was everyone’s Dad.” Bodine lost none of those gifts after college, which he used in a long and successful tech and telecommunications industry sales career. For his Gamma Delta brethren, his generosity of spirit, eclectic musical tastes, and penetrating intellect were always just a phone call or text message away. Bodine’s legacy and impact lives on in dozens of once young, now old men whose lives he changed. Chris Halligan, also an Alpha pledge spurred on to an extraordinary business career, credits Bodine’s in uence thusly: “Simply put, Kevin Bodine changed my life. He could com- mand a room with a booming voice, an incredi- ble vocabulary, and an unpredictable sense of humor. When Kevin talked, you straightened up, listened, and learned.” Bodine is survived by his children, Kelly and Kyle; sisters Carrie Ybarra, Lisa Mercado, Amy Hatch, and Sarah Bodine; stepmother Linda Bodine, brother Arthur Bodine; and his former wife, Heli Nielsen.
Wayne Blansett entered Chapter Eternal on August 18, 2023. The Mississippi native enrolled at Delta State University and joined Zeta Beta Chapter. After graduating, he spent the next 40 years serving Delta State as the Associate Dean of Students, and eventually as Vice President of Student Affairs. To understand his impact on the university and his beloved Pi Kappa Alpha, Bill LaForge, Past Pi Kappa Alpha National President and former President of Delta State University, said this about his dear friend: “When fraternity rush began, a few of us visited Wayne and others in his residence hall, thus be- ginning his long and terri c journey with Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity and its chapter at Delta State. He joined, and I was fortunate to have him as my Fraternity little brother. That sealed our lifelong friendship from the start. Wayne served with me in student government, and he led our Fraternity chapter with great skill, so much so that the chapter won a most outstanding chapter in the nation award his senior year. Wayne was recognized individually as one of the most outstanding undergraduates in the Fraternity nationwide. We were together in Miami for the 1972 Convention to celebrate the Kevin Bodine entered Chapter Eternal on Friday, August 25, 2023. Born in Princeton, New Jersey, on October 4, 1964, he was the son of promi- nent Phoenix businessman Ralph Bodine and Linda Kondora. Bodine was a 1982 graduate of Brophy College Preparatory School, and 1987 graduate of the University of Arizona with a degree in Communications. At Arizona, Kevin was also one of the seven men selected by then-Pi Kappa Alpha Executive Director Allen Groves to restart Gamma Delta chapter in 1985. As Gamma Delta’s vice president during the re- founding year, Bodine’s leadership, sel essness, and good humor played a pivotal role in helping dozens of young men navigate the challenges of independence, academia, and manhood. His abil- ity to connect with people was critical in the early days of Gamma Delta’s restart. Tasked with lead- ing PIKE pledges without the bene t of a large group of active brothers, Kevin intuitively sensed what those early pledge classes needed. He said the right things at the right moments: sometimes gentle encouragement, other times a not so gen- tle kick in the tail to help move them in the right direction. Michael Truty, a member of Gamma Delta’s initial “Alpha” refounding pledge class and future chapter president, described Kevin’s impact: “He roped us in and made us feel elite. He was proud of us before we ever did anything. You can’t put a price on that con dence.”
H. Way e B a ett (Delta State, Zeta Beta ’70)
Kevin . Boi e (Arizona, Gamma Delta ’84)
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SHIELD & DIAMOND
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