Remembering Foundation President Emerita Ann Dudgeon Phy

With great sadness, we share that Pi Beta Phi Foundation President Emerita Ann Dudgeon Phy, Texas Alpha, passed away on November 26, 2023. A dedicated Pi Phi, Ann served the Fraternity as Grand Secretary from 1981 to 1983 and as Pi Beta Phi Foundation’s first Board of Trustees President from 1990-1995. She was a pillar in the Dallas Pi Beta Phi community, trusted and revered for her service and leadership.

Ann's task as the inaugural Foundation Board President was immense, and she rose to the challenge with poise and prudence. With only a loan from the Fraternity and no apparent means of immediate income, the Foundation’s legal counsel described the time as “innovative and challenging.” Shortly after taking office, Ann said, “The goal of the Foundation is to focus on those educational and philanthropic issues that will be germane to the future, while permitting us to retain the best of our Pi Beta Phi traditions.” Her leadership made an immediate impact on the success of the Foundation, and she was honored with the title of President Emerita in June 2010.

Reflecting on their long friendship and Ann’s Lifelong Commitment to Pi Phi, Grand President Lisa Gamel Scott shared, “I had the pleasure of knowing Ann and calling her both a sister and a friend. Our interactions always included updates from the Fraternity and Foundation and her interest in the progress of the organization never waned. She had tremendous love and loyalty for Pi Phi and her contributions to the organization were significant.”

Ann attributed her leadership skills to Pi Phi, sharing “Pi Phi recognized in me the potential that I did not know existed. In fact, I had not been a leader [and] I definitely did not know that I had the potential to be a leader until I was invited to serve in Pi Phi and it made a huge difference in my life.” Of being the first President of the Foundation, Ann said “It is nice to be first because you don’t have a notebook that says you have to do it this way. You can do it the way that you think its best and that made my experiences as President of the Foundation very satisfying and very rewarding because I was able to use my judgement and I was able to evaluate what I had done.” As a sisterhood, we’re indebted to Ann’s good judgement and her legacy that resulted in the Pi Beta Phi Foundation we know today.

Ann was a steadfast supporter of our sisterhood, and her legacy continues beyond her lifetime. In 1993, Ann was honored as one of the charter members of the Marianne Reid Wild Society at Pi Phi’s 59th Biennial Convention in Orlando. “I joined the Society to benefit the Foundation with an additional gift at my death,” Ann said. “My gift will ensure the future of the Foundation and its support of Fraternity programming.” Today, more than 150 sisters and friends make up this giving society.

When asked where she saw Pi Phi in 100 years, Ann shared, “Our founders came together because of their values. They valued education and they valued friendship …  I think Pi Phi will be very different, but I think the bonds of friendship and the values we hold will continue to be carried forward among our members.” Ann is one of the Pi Phi legends who have ensured our sisterhood will indeed be carried forward.

Ann exemplified our core value of Lifelong Commitment in everything she did; she will be dearly missed. Memorial Services will be held on Wednesday, December 6, at 3 p.m. at Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas. A special memorial will be offered at the 2025 Louisville Convention.

Published November 30, 2023