Inez Smith Soule was known as “the prettiest girl in Monmouth” during her time at Monmouth College. That statement was usually followed by “there can never be a lovelier one in character and in manner.”
Inez Smith Soule at the reinstallation of Illinois Alpha
Inez Smith Soule was born on July 26, 1846 in Monmouth, the only Founder to have that distinction. Her parents came to Monmouth from Virginia before the railroad was built, so it was likely an arduous journey. She was a junior at Monmouth College when she and her friends organized I.C. Sorosis. She graduated in 1868 and married Melville Cox Soule a year later. The Soules moved to Tacoma, Washington in 1901. They had eight children including a set of twins.
Inez was a frequent guest at conventions and attended the 1924 Eastern Conference at Washington, D.C. Through the power of modern technology, she greeted the attendees at the 2007 convention. An Edison wax cylinder recording that had been in the Pi Beta Phi archives was successfully transferred to a modern format. The greeting that she recorded in 1915, on what was at that time the state of the art technology, allowed all who were present their only opportunity to hear the voice of a Founder. Inez said, “Since I cannot be present to meet you at convention, I take this means to greet you one and all. I shall think of you assembled there and thus be present in spirit at least. Being present in spirit, I must greet you in spirit – the spirit of ’67. Inez Smith Soule”
When she died in 1941, Dr. James H. Grier, President of Monmouth College, the son of Founder Ada Bruen Grier, gave the address. Dr. Grier said, “We are laying away today one who belonged to a former generation, the oldest alumna of Monmouth College, our own and our mother’s friend.” He continued, “Seventy-four years ago twelve girls of Monmouth College, friends of like mind and heart, founded the I.C. Sorosis – Mrs. Inez Smith Soule was one of those founders. She has had the joy of seeing and keeping in touch with almost twenty generations of young people, organized into active and alumnae groups from coast to coast and also in Canada.”
She is buried in the Monmouth cemetery where several Pi Beta Phi and Kappa Kappa Gamma Founders are buried. A plaque identifies her as a Founder of Pi Beta Phi.
