Pearl Nails Huff

Pearl Males Lewis Nails Huff, a longtime resident of Chicago’s lakefront Edgewater neighborhood died June 8, 2016 in Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago. She was 3 weeks short of her 88th birthday. Pearl moved to Chicago from Cincinnati in 1946 and moved into the house she lived in for the rest of her life where she raised her family. The house, on Chicago’s North Side, has been in the family since the late 1800’s and was passed down from her great aunt (Jane Walker) to her grandmother (Pearl Lipscomb) and then to her mother (Hettie Males). Pearl was the beloved only child of John Males and Hettie (Lipscomb) Males. She graduated from Senn High School on Chicago’s North Side and attended West Virginia State University and then graduated from Roosevelt University in Chicago with a degree in Social Work. She began her career as a Social Worker for nursing home patients. For many years, she supervised a team of social workers at the Illinois Department of Public Aid based in the Cabrini Green Public Housing Development on Chicago’s North Side. While at Cabrini, a now demolished public housing complex that provided housing to some of Chicago’s poorest residents, she never hesitated to share her wisdom to public aid recipients. She always considered herself as a strong African-American woman who served as an inspiration to many young women in the Cabrini development. Pearl often said that her proudest accomplishment was the rearing of her 5 children and her focus on education. She almost single-handedly put all of her children through parochial schools in Chicago and then on to college. Pearl was predeceased by each of her husbands, Jesse Lewis, Aljaray Nails, and Reuben Huff. She is survived by her sons Jeffrey Lewis (Sarah) of Dallas, TX, Garry Lewis (Helen) of Oswego, IL, Lance Lewis of Chicago, IL, Aljaray Nails, Jr. (Jenifer) of Hinesburg, VT, and her daughter Donna Robinson (Earl) of Chicago, IL, along with her 16 grandchildren.

Visitation: Drake & Son Funeral Home

Monday, June 13, 2016 - 10:00 to 11:00 AM

Celebration of Life: Drake & Son Funeral Home

Monday, June 13, 2016 - 11:00 AM