Eric Christopher Webb, DDiv., CPLC
Director of Communications
/Editor of The Sphinx
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
ewebb@apa1906.net
Cell: 443-635-5911
Friday, Sept. 26, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY, INC. MOURNS THE DEATH OF FORMER ALPHA FIRST LADY, EUNICE W. PONDER, ED.D. –
28TH GENERAL PRESIDENT BROTHER HENRY PONDER
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. mourns the death of former Alpha First Lady, Eunice W. Ponder, Ed.D. – the wife of 28th General President Brother Dr. Henry Ponder. Mrs. Ponder passed away on Sept. 20. She was 96.
The Fraternity offers its sincerest condolences to her family, friends, sorority, and all who admired her.
Mrs. Ponder, who lived a life of service, was a public-school teacher then a university professor and administrator as well as First Lady of Benedict College (1973-1984), Fisk University (1984-1994), Talladega College (2001-2004), and Langston University (2010-2012).
She attended Langston University, where she majored in business education and was a proud member of Beta Upsilon chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She graduated in 1951, later earning a master’s degree at Oklahoma State University in 1958, and subsequently an Ed.D. in higher education from the University of South Carolina in 1981. She became a development administrator then business management professor at Benedict.
At Fisk University, where she became First Lady in 1984, she also taught business management at the university, and served on numerous nonprofit boards, as well as was a member of The Fleur de Lis Bridge Club and The Links, Inc.
Mrs. Ponder, who retired in 1991, was a Golden Life Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a Platinum Member of The Links, Inc., and a member of the Order of the Eastern Star.
She is survived by her husband of 73 years, their daughters, Edna Cheryl and Anna Katheryn, and their Norfolk Terrier, Pearl.
A Celebration of Life is planned for Saturday, October 4, 2025, at 11:00am at the Leamington Beach Club: 100 S. Shore Drive, Hilton Head Island, 20028. In lieu of flowers, her family asks that you consider a gift to Memory Matters: 117 William Hilton Parkway, Hilton Head Island, SC, 29926 or https://www.mymemorymatters.org/explore.
Read full obituary at: https://www.compassionfuneralservice.com/obituary/eunice-ponder
About Alpha Phi Alpha
The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African American men, was founded on December 4, 1906, at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY and is headquartered in Baltimore, MD. The Fraternity has long stood at the forefront of the African American community’s fight for civil rights through Alpha men such as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; late former Congressman Adam Clayton Powell; late former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall; legendary activist, actor and performer, Paul Robeson, former Ambassador Andrew Young; late former Senator Edward Brooke; scholar, Cornel West; Senator Raphael Warnock; Congressman Steven Horsford, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus; General CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; six other members of the U.S. Congress, numerous state, and local lawmakers across the United States, as well as President of Liberia, His Excellency Joseph Boakai, Sr. The fraternity, through its more than 720 college and alumni chapters and general-organization members, serves communities in the United States, and other parts of North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.