Messenger - Vol. 2, No. 2, Page 31
Winter 1993
Alumni Profile: A Blue Hen legacy

     Margaret Reeser, along with her offspring and in-laws, represent three
generations of Delaware alumni. The eight graduates include two former
cheerleaders, a former tennis star and a grandmother who decided to follow
in her children's footsteps, returning to college to earn her degree when
she was 56.
     Sitting in her cozy home on Sunset Road in Newark, Del., a stone's
throw from the University, Reeser comments on the changes to Newark and to
the campus since she and her husband, Harold, a retired Chrysler Corp.
worker, moved here in l956. At that time, theirs was the only home on the
street.
     "Being so close, there was never any question about where our children
would go to school," she says.
     The first Reeser to attend the University was Kay, who started in 1961
and met her husband-to-be, William H. Iredale, in her sophomore year. Kay
majored in elementary education and was a cheerleader. Bill majored in
business and was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.  They graduated
in June 1965 and were married the following November. The couple currently
resides in Morristown, N.J., where Bill is president and owner of Fitzwater
Inc., a food service and marketing company.
     The Iredale's oldest son, Andy, 24, also a member of Sigma Phi
Epsilon, graduated from the University in June 1992 with a degree in
accounting. He is now employed by his father's company and can often be
found on campus, where his girlfriend is a senior.
     A second son, Michael, is currently a freshman, enrolled as a physical
education major and pledging Sig Ep.
     The second Reeser to attend the University was Kay's sister, Pamela
Lynn, who graduated in l969 with a degree in home economics. Her husband,
Ralph David Thomas, graduated in 1972 with a degree in  educational
administration.
     The couple has five children, but Grandmother Reeser says there is
little chance of continuing the Blue Hen tradition with that branch of her
family as Ralph is now employed as an auditor for the University of
Maryland.
     The Reeser's son, Harold Leland (Lanny) played on the University
tennis team and graduated in 1974 with a degree in civil engineering. His
wife, the former Rondalyn Mae Templet, graduated in 1975 with a degree in
education.
     Lanny is employed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a project
manager for hazardous, toxic and radioactive waste. Rondalyn is a
greenhouse manager for an herb farm. Their two sons both say they are
planning to attend Delaware.
     At the head of this super Blue Hen family is Margaret Mae Troutman
Reeser who, once her children were finished with their educations, decided
to return to school herself.
     Starting with classes in art, she finished an associate program in
graphic arts in l978. In l980, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in
human resources.
     While pursuing her degree, Mrs. Reeser undertook an internship with
the city of Newark, during which she developed a program to assist the
city's elderly, black population with banking needs, tax returns and other
problems.
     After working for the city for two years, Mrs. Reeser decided to start
her own business, At Your Service, which provided supervised, in-home care
to the elderly.
     She ran the business for eight years and retired at age 65 to "enjoy
life" and fish on the Chesapeake Bay.
     Along with her husband of 50 years, she fishes for rockfish in Broad
Creek almost every day in October and on weekends in November, coming home
with fish for neighbors and friends and, of course, for whatever hungry
grandchild happens to be enrolled at the University, anxious for a
home-cooked meal.
                                   -Beth Thomas