Viola Tyler Goings

Viola Margaret Tyler Goings (August 29, 1899 – March 9, 1983)[1] was an American educator, and one of the "Five Pearls", the five founding members of the Black sorority Zeta Phi Beta in 1920.

Viola Tyler Goings
A young Black woman wearing a sailor-style middy blouse
Viola Tyler (later Goings), from the 1920 yearbook of Howard University
Born
Viola Margaret Tyler

August 29, 1899
Ohio
DiedMarch 9, 1983
Ohio
OccupationEducator
Known forOne of the five founders of Zeta Phi Beta in 1920

Early life and education

Viola Margaret Tyler was born on a farm near Flushing, Ohio, the daughter of Richard Lewis Tyler and Evaline (Lina) Munts Tyler. She graduated from Howard University in 1920.[2] In 1920, she was one of the five founding members of Zeta Phi Beta, known as the "Five Pearls", along with her sister, Myrtle Tyler Faithful,[3] Arizona Cleaver Stemons, Pearl Anna Neal, and Fannie Pettie Watts.[4][5]

Career

Goings was a mathematics teacher in Springfield, Ohio, and in Smithfield, North Carolina. She was also a school principal in Maryland. She and her sister appeared and spoke at national Zeta Phi Beta events into their seventies.[6][7]

Personal life and legacy

Viola Tyler married Frederick Douglass Goings in 1922. They had two sons and two daughters. Her husband died in 1973,[8] and she died in 1983, in Springfield, at the age of 83.[1] In 2018, she and her sister were honored with a historical marker called the Tyler Sisters Memorial, at Perrin Woods Park in Springfield.[9] Her daughter Wynona was inducted into Zeta Phi Beta in 2019, at the age of 95, to mark the sorority's 99th anniversary.[4] The "Five Pearls" are celebrated every year by hundreds of Zeta Phi Beta chapters across North America.[10][11]

References
  1. "Obituary for Viola Taylor Goings". Springfield News-Sun. 1983-03-11. p. 19. Retrieved 2023-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Howard University, The Echo (1920 yearbook): 38.
  3. "Obituary for Myrtle Lavenla Faithful". The Baltimore Sun. 1993-04-24. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Zeta Phi Beta Just Inducted The 95-Year-Old Daughter of their Founder Viola Tyler Goings". Watch The Yard. 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  5. "Founders & First Initiates". Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  6. "Zeta Founders' Day Fete Gala Occasion". The New York Age. 1953-01-24. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Bowman, Labarbara (1970-08-08). "Black Awareness is Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Goal". The Sacramento Bee. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Obituary for Frederick D. Goings". Springfield News-Sun. 1973-01-08. p. 18. Retrieved 2023-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated Historical Marker". Historical Marker Database (HMDB). Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  10. Suggs, Ernie (2020-02-20). "Zeta Phi Beta sorority's history is a century of service". Dayton Daily News. pp. D10. Retrieved 2023-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Celebrates it Ruby Year". The New York Age. 1960-01-23. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
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