Page 40 - 1913 May - To Dragma

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICROX PI 199

ELIZABETH ABBOTT BALENTINE

On the 17th of January, 1913, Mrs. Elizabeth Abbott Balentine.
registrar of the University of Maine, and secretary to its faculty,
went quietly away into that higher life toward which we are all
journeying. She left behind her many to whom her life had been
an inspiration, and to whom her death bore its message.

For many years Mrs. Balentine was the veritable pivot upon which
the executive affairs of the university turned. Possessed of a wonder-
f u l memory, a keen mind, and a big understanding heart, her friend-
ship and counsel were indespensable to faculty and students alike.
Not only did she know the name and record of every student in the
university, but her big heart and her absorbing personality kept
her in close touch with the nature and ambition of each. Many
an intricate tangle did she unwind, and many a dark problem grew
bright under the light of her encouraging optimism. Her belief
and confidence in the possibilities and intentions of the students were
bound to bring out the best, and there are literally hundreds of men
and women who today "call her blessed."

She was the mother of Gamma chapter. I n the early days of its
childhood, while it wore the baby clothes of Phi Gamma and the
short dresses of Delta Sigma, she nurtured, encouraged and advised
it, ever holding unswervingly to the principles upon which it was
founded. When at last assisted by her help and guidance, it joined
the ranks of Alpha Omicron Pi none rejoiced more than she.

The sisters of Gamma chapter, far and near, feel that to her
they owe much of their appreciation of the real sorority spirit, which
she embodied in her life, of the strength through fellowship, of the
joy of serving one another. Always ready and eager to join in any
festivity, or to straighten any difficulty she was for fifteen years
or more, the inspiration of our sorority and college life. When she
entered a circle, it seemed, as Stevenson says, "As though another
candle had been lighted."

Inspired by the life and true to the memory of this mother and
dear elder sister, the girls of Gamma resolve that their chapter shall
ever hold fast to those attributes of character and those ideals of
life to which she was true and which will make her memory ever
honored.