Obituary – Mattie Pearl Bennett Frost

Published 12:11 pm Monday, April 7, 2025

Mattie Pearl Bennett Frost was born in the Mt. Zion Community of Greenville on Oct. 27, 1928. She is the fourteenth child of the late William Madison Bennett and Sammie Amanda Williams Bennett. 

Mattie Pearl, as she was commonly called, attended grade school at the Mt. Zion School in Butler County. To complete her secondary education, she moved to Birmingham to live with her sister Vinnie and Roman (Jake) Hawkins and their children. She graduated from Parker High School in 1947. Mattie matriculated at Tuskegee Institute (Tuskegee University) in 1947 and graduated in 1951 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Home Economics. She was elected “Miss Home Economics” in 1951. On Nov. 15, 1949, Mattie was initiated into the Gamma Tau Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated at Tuskegee Institute. She has been a member of the Montgomery Alumni Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta since 1983 and was recognized by the Montgomery Chapter on March 28 for 75 years of service to the organization.

Mattie earned a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Alabama State University in 1984. She taught school in the Butler County School System for 37 years. She taught at high school and junior high school levels at Long Creek (a three-teacher segregated school), R.L. Austin, Georgiana,, and Greenville Junior High School. She also coached girls basketball at R.L Austin School. Mattie earned teaching certifications from Tuskegee Institute, Alabama State University, Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University and Auburn University. She is certified in home economics, social studies, science, and special education. During the summer when school was out, Mattie worked as the Recreational Coordinator of Greenville’s Dunbar Recreation Center.

In her community, Mattie was active in the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church where she has been a member since early childhood. She was a member of the senior choir and often a featured soloist even during the last year of her earthly life. During the years 1950 – 1970, she was a superb alto in a women’s quintet that was often featured in local and regional civic and social events. She served as a member of The Order of the Eastern Star Queen Elizabeth Chapter No. 278, the Busy Bee Missionary Society and the Willing Workers Missionary Society. Other volunteerism and philanthropic associations included the Tuskegee Institute Alumni Association, the NAACP, the Butler County Urban League and a founding member of the Co-Workers Women’s Professional Club. The Co-Workers Women’s Professional Club sponsored the regional debutante ball, local talent shows and other cultural and entertainment activities in Butler County, particularly in Greenville and Georgiana, Alabama during the 1950s-2000. Mattie was also a dedicated school mom and chaperone for the boys’ basketball team and the school band. Mattie has been a Walk-A-Thon fundraising champion for decades, raising funds to help combat cancer. Her contributions to the Walk-A-Thon earned her a Woman of the Year Award from the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, the primary sponsors of the Butler County Walk-A-Thon. 

Mattie is affectionately referred to by family and friends as “The Good Samaritan”, because she was always looking for a way to lend a helping hand. And she was playfully given the title “World Traveler” by her nephew LTC James Walker because of her extensive travels in the contiguous United States, and to Hawaii, Europe, and various cruise ship Mediterranean destinations. 

Laughing was her favorite thing to do, second only to talking.

Mattie was married to the late John T. Frost to which three children were born: John Keith (Anita Humphrey) Frost, Jacqueline Yvonne (Arthur Wayne) Griffin and Fred Ervin Frost. She leaves to cherish her memory her three children; six grandchildren: Convonta Stone, Georgia Scott (Anthony), Melanie Turner (Robert Jr.), Matthew Frost (Tiffanie), Carmen Frost and Roman Griffin (Lorraine); three great-grandchildren: Reginald Scott, Tyler Scott and Christiana Frost; one sibling, Robert Samuel Bennett (Ceola); and a host of beloved nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Sister Frost left her earthly body suddenly and peacefully, exchanging it for her eternal body in Heaven, Friday morning, April 4.