Kappes Family Boasts Most Phi Delta Theta Members in Fraternity History

Left to right, Michael Kappes, Alex Kappes, “Skip” Kappes, and Mark Kappes

Like his father before him, Mark Kappes ’77 didn’t assume that his sons, Alex and Michael, would join Phi Delta Theta just because it is a tradition in the Kappes family. He encouraged both of his sons to do their homework and find out whether the fraternity was right for them.

“While I am very pleased that they are both members of the Fraternity,” Mark said, “I wanted them to make their own choice, much like my father told me.”

Mark’s sons, Philip Alexander “Alex” Kappes ’02, and Michael Ross Kappes ’05 both joined Phi Delta Theta, adding to the ever-growing list of Kappes family men who are also Phi Delta brothers. In fact, the Kappes family holds the record for having the most brothers from the same family in Phi Delta Theta history.

A few years ago, Mark’s father, Philip Spangler “Skip” Kappes ’45, received the Legion of Merit Award from the fraternity at their biennial convention. It was there that they found out that while other families have longer genealogies in the fraternity, none have as many members as the Kappes. Mark’s sons were also in attendance.

“That was a very special moment to share with my father and both my sons,” he recalled.

In addition to doing their homework, Kappes family members have undoubtedly seen the benefits of being in the fraternity that their fathers, uncles, and cousins have enjoyed before them. The Kappes family has made Phi Delta Theta a part of their lives long after graduation.

“My father was President of Indiana Gamma (Butler) while an undergraduate. After graduating from law school, he became president of the housing board for the chapter. He did that for nearly 40 years,” said Mark. “It’s hard not to see what he put into the fraternity and what he got out of it.”

While it has been several years since Mark’s time at Purdue, he has fond memories of his time in the Phi Delt house. Today, Mark is a Captain with United Continental Airlines. At Purdue, he was a member of the Aviation Technology Flying Club. Through the club he had access to an airplane and some nights he could be found going through the house asking his brothers if they wanted to go for a ride.

“It might be 11 o’clock at night, but I rarely had trouble finding people that wanted to go flying,” recalled Mark. “I could show them the campus from the air. If they grew up near West Lafayette, I could show them their family homes. That was always fun.”

In addition to fond memories, Mark says that he took away some invaluable life lessons from his time at Phi Delt. One of the most important being to stay open to other peoples’ ideas.

“After talking with my dad about how people weren’t doing things right, (at least as I thought they should be done), he told me that my ideas, while not wrong, also weren’t right,” Mark explained. “There is more than one way to accomplish a task. I needed to be more flexible.”

Mark says that while it can be difficult to separate family member bonds from Phi Delt connections, he credits the fraternity with deepening those relationships.

“I can say that the bond I have with all of my family that are members of the fraternity is fortified by the bond of Phi Delta Theta,” he said.

Today, Mark continues to work as a Captain with United Airlines. He flies 767s out of Newark, New Jersey, traveling mostly to Europe and South America. 

“On a typical trip I might leave on Monday and fly overnight to Zurich or Amsterdam or Paris,” he explained. “We spend 24 hours on the ground and return on Wednesday morning. I typically do that four to five times per month.”

Mark and his wife, Kathy, have three sons and eight grandchildren, ranging in age from 16 to three. Outside of work Mark enjoys flying his personal airplane, a four-seat Piper Archer. He is also an amateur photographer, a scuba diver, and has recently been taking cooking lessons. He says that genealogy is a new interest and he can currently trace back six generations.

Kappes Family Members in Phi Delta Theta

Mark Kappes will be our guest speaker at Indiana Theta’s Founders’ Day celebration on Saturday, April 8. Also on that day, Phi Delt will induct Golden Legionnaire brothers (initiated 50+ years) and Silver Legionnaire brothers (initiated 25+ years). Mark is hopeful that his father Skip and other family members will be in attendance.