Our
Five Pearls
Our
Five Pearls
Arizona
Cleaver Stemons- She was the first basileus of the
Alpha Chapter and the first Grand Basileus of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. She encouraged the first group of young women to join her in
organizing Zeta Phi Beta Sorority. She was educated in the public schools
of Hannibal, Missouri. Her graduate and post graduate studies were pursued at
Howard University and at the Pennsylvania School of Social Work. A staunch church
worker, she was in charge of the Sunday School Teachers Training Class of
Saint Simon the Cyrenian Church of Philadelphia. She was also a caseworker for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and
a Juvenile Court
Probation Officer in Philadelphia. Her triumphant life ended March 1980 in
Philadelphia.
Myrtle
Tyler Faithful- She was the second Grand
Basileus of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority and the blood sister of co-founder Viola
Tyler Goings. Founder Faithful was born in Flushing, OH, and
matriculated at Howard University. She taught English and mathematics for
some years and always had an active interest in community affairs. After
her marriage to Ross Faithful, she retired form teaching to raise her two
daughters, both of whom are Zeta women. A former resident of Townson,
Maryland, Founder Faithful was an active Life Member of Alpha Zeta Chapter in
Baltimore, Maryland. Her triumphant life ended on April, 21, 1993 in
Baltimore, Maryland.
Viola
Tyler Goings- Born in Flushing, Ohio,
Founder Goings pursued her college work at Howard University. After
graduating from Howard, she taught in North Carolina, and later accepted the
position of Assistant Principal at the Cambridge High School in Cambridge,
Maryland. After marriage, she moved to Springfield, Ohio where she
continued her career as a teacher. Founder Goings believed that "there is a
Zeta girl regardless of race, creed, or color who has high standards of
principles, a good scholarly average, and an active interest in all
things." Her triumphant life ended in March, 1983 in Springfield,
Ohio.
Fannie
Pettie Watts- She was a life member and
held membership with the Delta Alpha Zeta Chapter in Brooklyn, New York.
She organized the Omicron Beta undergraduate chapter in Brooklyn, New York. She
was born on Perry, Georgia. She attended public schools in Savannah,
Georgia, and continued her formal training at the Georgia State College.
Later she graduated form Howard University with a Bachelor of Arts Degrees in
Education. She pursued post-graduated studies in Social Work at New York
University, Professionally, She was the Social Investigator for the
Department of Social Service in Brooklyn. Founder Watts' triumphant life
ended in 1995 in New York.
Pearl
Anna Neal- She was born in Charlotte,
North Carolina, She exhibited early a degree of excellence in music and
attended the Lincoln Academy in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. Upon
completion of her studies at the academy, she entered Howard University where
she earned a degree in Music. She earned a Master's Degree in Music form
Columbia University in New York in 1938, becoming the first African American
woman in the state to earn that degree. She did further study at the
Julliard School of Music in New York. Founder Neal began her career in the
field of Education in Americus Georgia. She completed her career in the
Winston-Salem Schools in 1966. She was extremely active in church and
community activities. Founder Neal's triumphant life ended on January 31,
1978 in Charlotte, North Carolina.