November 18, 2005 Tyler Morning Telegraph

Tyler is what it is today because of people like Verna Hall, one friend said. Another called her one of the city’s most important volunteers. And many agreed the longtime community servant’s love for Tyler was as true as could be.

“She stood tall like a giant redwood in the forest of pine saplings when it came to volunteering in charitable work,” said longtime friend Herb Buie. “She was involved in so many, many things that she will leave a great hole in the community.”

Verna, 92, died peacefully at her Tyler home March 31.

Buie knew Verna for almost 50 years and worked alongside her in many community projects.

“You just couldn’t say enough nice things about her,” he said. “She was the leader of making good things happen for less fortunate people.”

Verna was “one of the most important volunteers that Tyler ever had,” said longtime friend Patrick Willis.

“She cared so deeply and truly loved Tyler,” Willis added.

Born in Arcadia, Louisiana, in 1932, Verna moved to Rusk with her parents and brother when she was about 5.

She was involved in clubs and organizations, band, theatre and athletics.

“All my life, I’ve been involved in things,” Verna said during a 2014 interview with the Tyler Morning Telegraph. “Even growing up … I was always in the big middle of everything.”

She played clarinet, acted in plays and was elected as “Best All Around Girl” during her senior year in high school.

“I think that tells you, I have a broad interest in things,” Verna said in 2014. “I just think it’s my way of life.”

She met her future husband, George, while attending North Texas State in Denton, and they married in 1954. The young couple then moved to Tyler two years later, where George worked at People’s Bank and Verna worked as a legal secretary and then oil and gas secretary.

“Mother was always a worker,” said Kyle Hall, her son. “So, it did not surprise me to learn that when my parents were young and married, when a lot of women stayed at home, she went out and got a job because… she really wanted to be a professional.”

Kyle Hall said his mother told him that if she could have any pick of any career, she would’ve liked to have been an attorney.

“But in the … 1950s, there was really just no pathway for that for women,” he said. “Most jobs for women were limited to nursing or teaching or secretarial.”

When Kyle was born, Verna elected to stay home to take care of her son until he was old enough to attend preschool. In the 1960s, she found a passion for volunteering.

“At that time, married women didn’t have jobs,” Kyle said. “She made volunteering her job, and that path was wide open for her.”

He remembers the times as a child when he tagged along with his mother on errands and she told him about local businesses.

“Mother was always devoted to going to shops that were locally owned and locally operated,” he said. “She really loved Tyler, and… it was her belief that people who enjoyed the life that Tyler offers need to specifically do things that support Tyler and its businesses and its shopkeepers. There was always loyalty to businesses that were founded here.”

He also remembers how little time his mother spent in the kitchen, eating mostly TV dinners.

“She never really slaved away over an oven or stove; her interests were elsewhere,” he said. “I asked my dad if he thought it was strange at all, and he said no. He said, ‘I wanted her to do what she was interested in, and I always knew she wasn’t interested in (cooking).’ They were a great team.”

Verna’s reputation for philanthropy earned her friends all around.

“I worked with Verna for the last 30 years, going back to my days on the Tyler City Council and as mayor and even when I was in the (Texas) Senate and working on the Rose Festival,” said Kevin Eltife. “She was one of a kind… she did so much for this community.”

Eltife talked about how accommodating Verna was when he was in charge of the Rose Festival Ball.

“She made my life so easy as she did for so many just making sure things got done,” he said. “But she was also so fun. She made everything fun.”

If Verna took on a project, there was no doubt it was going to get done.

“No matter how big or small the project, Verna was always there,” Eltife said. “She rolled up her sleeves and made it happen.”

According to her obituary, Verna volunteered for the United Way of Smith County, the East Texas Food Bank, the East Texas Crisis Center, the Tyler Junior College Foundation, the Tyler Museum of Art, the East Texas Symphony Orchestra, the Women’s Symphony League, Historic Tyler, Bethesda Health Clinic, Habitat for Humanity, the Texas Rose Festival’s Order of the Rose, and many more. She tirelessly worked on community projects and civic campaigns.

“The list just goes on and on,” Eltife said. “I don’t think there’s a nonprofit Tyler she didn’t help. She was just truly a wonderful giving person.”

“Verna also made countless friends through the social groups and clubs to which she belonged, including the Marion Wilcox Junior Garden Club, the Littera Literary Club, Willow Brook Country Club, ‘Soup Group,’ early Tuesday ‘breakfast buddies,’ and the Friday Night Dinner Club, among others,” her obituary states. “She treasured the relationships she had with her friends. Her delight in seeing them was never in doubt.”

Verna told the Morning Telegraph in 2014 those relationships she built over the years were “priceless” to her.

She worked with many people in the community through her volunteer efforts.

“I can still (hear) her answering her phone with ‘Hey friend,’” said friend Liz Ballard, who is also the executive director of the Texas Rose Festival Association. “She was always happy and upbeat. We could talk for extended lengths of time and have some good laughs.”

Verna worked with Ballard often with Rose Festival planning, as Ballard recalls how organized her friend was.

“She had the most amazing system of index cards and a plat all on her dining table,” Ballard said. “She could plan the seating chart with such finesse, (and) every guest was made to feel like royalty. (She) had such class and could always apply her charm to handle any situation — even if she had to use the velvet hammer and tell someone no to their special request.”

Verna said during a 2022 interview with the Tyler Morning Telegraph that the longer she volunteered with the Order of the Rose, the more responsible she became for things going on with the organization. It got to the point where, “they thought of me as part of them, and I thought of myself as part of them,” she said at the time.

Throughout her years of tireless dedication and pouring into the community, Verna was honored numerous times for her contributions.

In 1993, she received the United Way of Smith County’s top recognition for philanthropy, the Alexis de Tocqueville Award, for 20 years of service.

And in 2014, in honor of another two decades of service, the nonprofit organization named its leadership giving program the Verna K. Hall Leadership Circle. That same year, she was honored by the Women In Tyler Committee as one of six ‘Women Who Care’.

Recently, she was recognized by the Texas Rose Festival Association in 2022 during the annual Winter Gala as its special honoree. Serving the community for over 50 years, Willis said during the gala her contributions to Tyler were “legendary.”

Willis worked with Verna for at least two decades.

“She was amazing,” he said this week. “Her passion for volunteering was … very inspirational. I am going to miss her a lot.”

Verna told the Morning Telegraph in 2022 that volunteering was part of her. “It’s been a real pleasure, and still is, to volunteer for the community,” she said at the time.

Verna’s passing leaves a gap in the city.

“We live in an incredible community, and it’s because of people like Verna Hall,” Eltife said. “Our community lost a great person.”

Kyle hopes people in the community realize how much she truly cared and loved Tyler.

“Mother really loved — and was committed to — Tyler and its organizations, its philanthropies, its schools, its hospitals and the people who run and work for them,” he said. “She had the greatest affection for all of them and Tyler, too.”