Zonia Way

BIOGRAPHY

Zonia Way was born in Meridian, Mississippi, USA, on 9 May 1905. Way’s grandfather founded St. Paul’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Meridian. Her mother, Virginia Anna Shields Matticx, taught Greek and Latin at Meridian College (later renamed Haven College), where she met Way’s father, Frank Henry Matticx, who was of French and Choctaw descent. Way initially attended Meridian Academy, followed by Meridian’s Colored Public School.

After her mother passed away in 1915, Way’s father moved to Chicago, remarried Grace Abney Garnett, and sent for his daughter in 1918. In Chicago, Way attended Doolittle Elementary School and later Hyde Park High School, where she was an honor student and an active member of the Girls’ Reserves.

Way began her first job in a hat shop in 1925. That same year, she met Walker V. Thomas, a dental student, and they soon married. For many years, Way was actively involved in civic life on Chicago’s South Side and in Idlewild, Michigan. In 1934, she joined the Church of the Good Shepherd and became a dedicated member of several organizations, including the Douglass Chapter of the League of Women Voters, the YWCA board, the Meharry Auxiliary, and the Dentists’ Wives Club.

After her husband’s death in 1949, Way turned to drapery-making, creating and selling custom pieces to clients. In 1960, she married John Way and continued her work in drapery design and interior decorating.

Zonia Way passed away in Chicago, Illinois, USA, on 10 July 2015, at the age of 110 years, 62 days.

RECOGNITION

Her age has not been validated.

ATTRIBUTION

* Zonia T. Way – The HistoryMakers

GALLERY

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