The Golden Girls of P.E.O.

Kathy Brown, Sue Hellwege and Anne Marietta smile at each other with familiarity. Five decades of membership in P.E.O. have made them close friends as they work to support educational opportunities for women. In P.E.O. Chapter JN in Cape Girardeau, these women are known as the “golden girls.” To become a golden girl, each woman must be part of the sisterhood for more than 50 years. Cape Girardeau’s JN chapter has five golden girls in total, including Arizona resident Jane Daume and 60-year P.E.O. member Sandy Wilhelm.

Anne Marietta holds a framed portrait of her mother and P.E.O. golden girl Jean Burt. “My mother loved P.E.O.,” Marietta says. “She came to all the meetings up until she passed away.” Jasmine Jones

P.E.O. International has been making a difference in women’s lives by providing educational assistance since its founding in 1869. The seven women who started P.E.O. were students at Iowa Wesleyan College who began meeting privately to discuss educational opportunities for women.

“Their aim was that women could get an education,” Hellwege says.

Sue Hellwege motions to her P.E.O. needlepoint star crafted by the late Jean Burt. On this particular evening, the JN Chapter auctioned off a similar needlepoint to raise funds for their projects. Jasmine Jones

To accomplish this mission, P.E.O. started an independent women’s college, Cottey College in Nevada, Mo., and five educational assistance programs. To receive assistance, a woman is first sponsored by a local P.E.O. chapter before the final decision is made by the international P.E.O. chapter.

Cape’s local P.E.O. Chapter JN was founded in 1964 and has helped local and international women further their education through grants, loans and scholarships. The program specifically for international students is called the P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship (IPS).

“IPS was started in 1949. It was started deliberately after World War II to help women then after the war get an education,” Brown says. “Their main requirement [for receiving the scholarship] is after they train here in any field, they are required to go back to their home country and use their skills there to train other women. It’s a way to spread the education.”

P.E.O.’s other programs are available for women in the United States and Canada. Marietta received a grant to finish her credentials and become a registered dietician in 1974. Recently, the chapter sponsored two more women with the same grant. When P.E.O. sponsors a woman, the chapter remains in contact with her, ensuring her needs are met financially, emotionally and mentally.

Although the three golden girls joined the organization at different P.E.O. chapters, they all got involved because of their families. Brown, Hellwege and Marietta’s mothers were all P.E.O. golden girls.

“I got involved because of my mother. She initiated me. She was the president [of Dexter’s P.E.O. Chapter] at the time,” Hellwege says. “Then later, I was able to help my niece become a P.E.O. I was president at the time, and I was able to bring her into the chapter.”

This tradition of mothers bringing their daughters into the organization continues with the other two golden girls. Brown’s mother and grandmother were both highly–involved members of P.E.O.

“My mother was a 50-year member as well, and that’s why my sister and I were initiated,” she says.

Marietta first heard of P.E.O. from her aunt but joined right after her mother, the late Jean Burt, joined. Burt was a 50-year member of P.E.O. last year before her passing. Marietta says members of the JN Chapter could see Burt’s sincere love for the organization; she remembers hearing her mother memorize P.E.O.’s ritual script while ironing.

“My mother knew the entire script of our ritual by memory. She knew all the parts,” Marietta says. “Even when she was dying, she would say these things that were beautiful and very inspirational.”

Seeing her mother’s love for the organization has helped Marietta remain involved. Hellwege also credits her own mother’s dedication to P.E.O. for her continual involvement.

“I stayed active because of my mother. She just loved P.E.O. and what it could do for women,” she says.

The golden girls have stayed with P.E.O. despite the obstacles life has thrown their way, including moving to other states.

“[When] I moved from Kansas, they were the first friends I made,” Brown says of the P.E.O. members. “I’ve kept all of them for all these years.”

For Marietta, this statement also rings true. She has been a part of three P.E.O. chapters for the past five decades, ranging from Pennsylvania to Missouri.

“It’s a wonderful organization to be a member of because when you move, there’s always nice people,” she says. “You can depend on P.E.O.s.”

Understanding radiates between the golden girls as they interact with each other. A common mission and generations of family involvement have brought them together and kept them with P.E.O. Brown, Hellwege and Marietta have 50 years worth of memories to cherish.

Brown says of all the memories from her time in P.E.O., “the opportunity I’ve had to meet so many wonderful women,” is what she cherishes most.