Viola Tyler Goings
American community leader
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
August 29, 1899
Viola Tyler Goings | |
|---|---|
Viola Tyler (later Goings), from the 1920 yearbook of Howard University | |
| Born | Viola Margaret Tyler August 29, 1899 Ohio |
| Died | March 9, 1983 (aged 83) Ohio |
| Occupation | Educator |
| Known for | One 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. Goings 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]