In Memoriam – April 2021

Each month, Tri Delta publishes In Memoriam, highlighting the lives of some of our Distinguished Deltas and longtime volunteers and sharing a full list of sisters who have recently passed away. Below is the In Memoriam for April 2021.

Susan Butler Burdick, Florida State 

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Susan Butler Burdick, Florida State. 

Susan served as the first director of Georgia Special Olympics, where she directed statewide programs of sports training and athletic competition for 23,000 mentally challenged persons.

Susan received accolades from the Atlanta Track Club for her outstanding performance in promoting track and field, and she was nominated to Who’s Who in American Women in 1977-78.  

Myra Leigh Tobin, Kentucky 

Tri Delta trailblazer Myra Leigh Tobin, Kentucky, passed away peacefully on Thursday, April 29, 2021. Myra briefly worked for U.S. Rep. William Natcher and in the Kentucky Department of Commerce before moving to New York. She began working at Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., and then moved to the New York-based international insurance firm Marsh and McLennan Companies, where she rose through the ranks to become senior vice president and then managing director, a position she held from 1982 until retiring in 1998. 

Myra was often called a “Woman of Firsts.” She was the first woman with a master’s in business administration hired by Marsh and McLennan, the first woman managing director of the firm and the first chair of the firm’s Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry Committee. She was also a founding member of the Board of the New York Women’s Foundation. 

Myra was a leader in New York, yet remained connected to her Kentucky roots. Her support of UK HealthCare enabled the construction of the Myra Leigh Tobin Chapel. She served as president of the UK Alumni Association and served for six years on the UK Board of Trustees. She served as president of the Kentuckians of New York and was inducted into the UK Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2000.  

Betty Lou Vandeveer, California/Los Angeles 

Tri Delta was saddened to learn of the passing of Betty Lou Vandeveer, California/Los Angeles. Betty graduated from Chaffey Junior College in 1942. In 1943, she married William Doyle Smith who was killed in combat a year later. Shortly after, Betty returned to her college studies at UCLA where she joined Tri Delta’s Theta Pi Chapter. 

It was through a sorority sister that she met Jim Vandeveer, whom she married on the same day she graduated from UCLA in 1946. Following graduation, Betty was a teacher and wrote her own home economics textbook. She also worked for the Regina Wine Company as a chemist and helped transform them into a successful vinegar company. She was famous for her skills as a hostess, her warm hospitality and her generosity of heart.  

In Memoriam 

This In Memoriam list includes sisters who were reported as deceased to Executive Office April 1–30, 2021. If you know of a sister who has passed away, please report her information to Executive Office by emailing memberrecords@trideltaeo.org.