Soror Nellie Wolfe Gaylord
24th North Atlantic Regional Director, 1978-1982

Soror Nellie Wolfe Gaylord believed in giving her time, talent and treasure to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. In her 68 years of service, Soror Nellie, our 24th North Atlantic Regional Director, left behind countless accomplishments and accolades when she departed this life on October 8, 2010.

Soror Nellie’s journey in Alpha Kappa Alpha began with her initiation at Alpha Pi Chapter at the former Clark College in Atlanta, now Clark Atlanta University. Upon graduation, she joined Kappa Omega Chapter where she served as Epistoleus alongside Founder Soror Marie Wolfolk Taylor. When Soror Nellie relocated to Philadelphia, she joined Omega Omega Chapter where her paths crossed with another Founding Soror, the visionary Ethel Hedgeman Lyle, and she became the Assistant Graduate Advisor to Delta Mu Chapter at Temple University.

In 1967, Soror Nellie organized Theta Pi Omega Chapter, then one of only four chapters in the state of New Jersey, and served as its first Basileus. In 1978, she was elected Regional Director, serving in this role until 1982. An original committee member of the Corporate Office Improvement Program, better known as COIP, Soror Nellie also served as the North Atlantic Representative to the International Membership Committee from 1990 to 1994.

Articulate, knowledgeable and dedicated to service, Soror Nellie was a role model and resource. Even after she returned to Atlanta in 1995, she vowed that she would always be a member of Theta Pi Omega. A Golden Soror and Life Member, Soror Nellie instituted the Alpha Pi Wolfe Sisters Endowed Scholarship within the AKA Educational Advancement Fund in honor of the legacy that she shared with her two sisters.

She leaves to grieve her passing a son, Clyde Gaylord, III; a sister, Ida Ross; a brother, Roy Wolfe, and his wife, Elise; sister-in-laws, Fredericka Wolfe and Henrietta Wolfe; and a host of relatives, friends and Sorors.