“Saying Goodbye to a Charter Member of Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc. San Antonio Metropolitan Chapter.”
On Friday, April 8, 2022, the San Antonio Metropolitan Chapter of Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc., lost one of the founding members of the chapter, Lady Dorothy Price Collins.
Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc. was chartered in the State of Texas on September 8, 1964, as a non-profit educational, humanitarian organization, with the purpose of “Serving Youth, Top Teens of America and Adults.”
Lady Collins, with the help of four other Top Ladies – La Vergie Reese Matlock, Gloria McGowan, Calvin M. Duke and Evelyn Scarborough, organized and chartered the San Antonio Metropolitan Chapter of Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc., January 30, 1982.
As a member of the TLOD SAMC, she kept all meetings in order by serving as a very strict Parliamentarian. She gently corrected us in the proper way to conduct a meeting. During her tenure in Top Ladies, she served as Chapter President, Chairperson of the Bylaws Committee, and Corresponding Secretary at the local level and assisted at various Area One Conferences.
“Lady Collins was a great role model for our Top Ladies and Top Teens. She was always eager to help in any way that she could,” said Lady Ian Glenn, San Antonio Metropolitan Chapter President.
A civil rights activist and educator, Lady Collins was a stalwart of the San Antonio Community. Her community involvement included being a member of the NAACP, National Coalition of 100 Black Women, East Side Boys and Girls club, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority and Alamo Area Alliance of Black Educators.
A fighter for civil rights, during the 1960’s, she helped lead a protest outside of Joske’s Department Store. As a result of this protest, the Camelia Room became integrated.
She was among the first Black teachers to integrate Winston Elementary and was instrumental in the life of singer Gloria Estefan. Estefan, one of her first-grade students, was able to learn English, due to her patient and special care.
A staunch believer in helping others, she was always willing to mentor others. Her favorite motto was “Learn everything you can.”
Lady Collins was born in Nacogdoches, January 19, 1932. She attended public schools in
Waxahachie and earned her bachelor’s degree from Texas Southern University. She later obtained her Master of Education degree from Our Lady of the Lake University.
She was a longtime member and pillar of the Mount Zion First Baptist Church where she served as a teacher and mentor to everyone.
She will be deeply missed by all who knew her.
Visitation at Lewis Funeral Home:
Friday, April 22nd at 5:00 pm.
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Ceremony
Friday, April 22nd at 6:30 pm.
Funeral Date:
10:00 AM on Saturday, April 23, 2022
Funeral Address:
Mt. Zion Baptist Church
333 Martin Luther King Drive, San Antonio, TX 78204
Interment will be at Meadowlawn Cemetery.
Article By: Lady Dona Fair
