Eula Mae Jordan English 1922-2014
- Details
- Category: In Memory Of
- Published on Thursday, 02 January 2014 16:13
- Written by Wyllisa R. Bennett
Mid City resident, Eula Mae Jordan English, the wife of pioneering attorney Herman A. English died of cancer on Wednesday, November 13, 2014 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center surrounded by family.
Beginning in the 1950s, Eula English and attorney Herman A. English were a power couple of LA’s elite, Black society for more than 30 years. The college sweethearts met at Tillotson College in Austin , Texas and married in December 1941, moving to the City of Angels in 1944.
The “great woman” behind the man, English was an accountant and helped build her husband’s law practice and expand into several business, including the landmark English Square No. 1, located at 8500 S. Broadway. In its heyday, the landmark encompassed more than 20 Black businesses in South Los Angeles, as well as English Square No. 2 Banquet Hall and Cultural Center. The English Square No. 2 in Compton was one of the first banquet halls and convention auditoriums owned and operated by African Americans in the country.
Because of her standing in the community, English met and socialized with the rich and famous: celebrities, politicians, city leaders, dignitaries, professional athletes and the local gliteratti of the day, including presidents John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mayor Tom Bradley, golfer Charlie Sifford and NFL player Jim Brown – just to name a few.
As a socialite, English was also a woman of service and a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Heroines of Jericho, the Wives of the Bench and Bar, and for many years, the Bon Amici Club.
She is survived by her brother, Emmit Jordan of Texas; her two children, Herman A. English Jr. of Texas and district attorney Brenda English of Los Angeles; plus five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, including a baby on the way.