Viola Tyler was born in Flushing, Ohio on Aug. 29, 1899.

After graduating from Howard University, Viola went on to teach in North Carolina and serve as a principal in Maryland before marrying Frederick Goings, Sr. and settling in Springfield, Ohio.

While in Springfield, Viola continued her teaching career in the local schools and Frederick became employed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. She was involved in civic and social affairs when she served as president of the Friday Afternoon Study Club.

Viola is known as one of "The Five Pearls" who founded the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority. She was among five coeds in 1920 who created the sorority with a vision that it would

"directly affect positive change, chart a course of action for the 1920s and beyond, raise consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic achievement, and foster a greater sense of unity among its members." One hundred years later, more than 100,000 women are members of Zeta Phi Beta.

On March 9, 1983, Viola passed away at the age of 83 and was buried alongside her husband. She is celebrated by fellow Zeta Phi Beta sisters annually on the sorority's Founder's Day.

Viola Tyler Goings is interred in Ferniff Cemetery, Section Y Lot 118.