By: Cheryl Smith
I just want to take a minute to talk about Henry Etta O’Neal.
It was in 2026 that I found out that she was no longer with us, that she was an Angel, an ancestor.
Usually, during the summer, I attend a lot of conventions out of town and sometimes I get to visit family so I become detached from places, people and things.
Then also COVID happened and changed the way we communicate, how we keep in touch, how we exist, and sadly, it seems like we might as well be back in times before the telephone, Pony Express or many of the other ways we communicate information, like even smoke signals. And is it ironic we have social media, and some take to social media to alert folks when someone has transitioned? You’d think we would do a better job of communicating.
I met Henry Etta probably when I was in my 20s. We had a lot in common. We were HBCU alumni, very proud HBCU alums, and we were both in sororities.
Now those were not the only common denominators connecting us initially.
We shared special moments in the 80s, because that was the time when up-and-coming Blacks were making their way to cities like Dallas. We were educated, energetic, and loved getting together. Like so many others, it was the church, alumni association, Greek-letter organizations, to name a few. Seems like we stayed connected and went on our merry way serving the community and working with one another.
Henry went on to be a regional officer in Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority. I thought fondly of her then, and I remember her fondly today. She was a special young lady. She had an impeccable work ethic and an unwavering level of support for anything or anybody she was committed to. It’s been a year since she transitioned, but she still has an impact on me, and I know countless of others because she was a servant leader. She was a dynamic, fierce leader, and I learned from her like I know so many others did.
Never mind that I had to get in my digs with “everything was better on my side of the fence.”Of course I said “FAMU is better than Southern, Deltas are the best, and the Beta Alpha chapter at FAMU was better than her Beta Alpha Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Chapter at Southern University; our Marching 100 band could not be beat, you get the picture.
Sadly, there was one thing I couldn’t beat her on, even though we know it wasn’t named after the Southern University mascot; they had a car named Jaguar, and it was cool!
Deep down we had the same feeling. We felt blessed to have the opportunity to achieve and to turn around and lift as we climbed. And that’s what she did so well. I also appreciated her support of the Black Press
I am going to run a little of her obituary here because maybe others had no idea that she was gone.
I also want her beautiful daughter, Jazmine to know her mom is not forgotten. It’s great to know that she is also following in her mother’s footsteps – living, lifting, leading, and loving!
Early on, December 2, 1960, Alburnia Cecil Jones Johnson presented Henry Johnson with his first bundle of joy. Henry Etta Johnson O’Neal.
Henry Etta graduated in the top 20 of her class from Block High School in Jonesville, LA in 1978. She then attended “The Southern University” in Baton Rouge, LA, where she graduated with a BS in Management in the Fall of 1981.
At Southern, Henry Etta was very active, and along with nine other young ladies, reactivated the Beta Alpha Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Anyone who did not know Henry Etta’s blood was blue and gold did not know her.
Henry Etta then moved to Dallas and stayed with her cousin Stan Johnson and his wife Barbara. She got her first job with North Park National Bank. This led to her meeting Gail Stein, who invited her to First Baptist Hamilton Park, where she served as an Usher and Safety Team Member.
Henry Etta met Ronny O’Neal and was married on September 4, 1993 and to this union their bundle of joy was born, Jazmine NeCole O’Neal.
Henry Etta, known as Henry to her work community, got her sense of humor from her father. She would always take a boring situation at work, crack a joke and everyone would be laughing. She was known in her sorority as the “voluntold soror” or the “two finger tap soror” and only a few would think before they moved to take action.
She held and served on several local, regional and national positions in her sorority.
Another proud moment, when her daughter became her soror. She served as the Dallas Chapter President twice for the local chapter. She was a member of the sorority for almost 50 years and a proud member of the Alpha Omicron Sigma Chapter for the majority of those years. She held the highest position in the region which was the 20′” Southwestern Regional Syntaktes (Director) of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. As a Southernite, Henry Etta was the first female Present of the Dallas Chapter and also served as the 3a Vice President on the national level. Henry Etta’s last accomplishment on God’s land was to organize and charter the North Dallas Suburbia Chapter of the Top Ladies of Distinction in March of 2023.
Etta leaves to mourn her change of address, husband Ronny, daughter, Jazmine, sister Bernita (Michael) Stirgus, brother in law, Dewey Simpson, Duncanville, TX; brother in law, Rev. Nathan (Dana) O’Neal, Denver, CO; sister in law, Valeria (Tommy) Jones, Longview. TX; aunt, Susie Jones, Jena, LA; special cousins, Catrina Jones, Houston, TX, Cora McClendon, Garland, TX, Aisha McClendon, Garland, TX; classmate, Loria Hollins, Jonesville, LA;; Godmother, Rachel Henry: Royce City, TX.
