Former City Councilor Darla Hall dies at 69

[sgrizzle]

quote:
Darla Hall, a longtime Tulsa city councilor and westside community advocate, died Thursday. She was 69.

Services are set for 11 a.m. Monday at Trinity Baptist Church under the direction of Heath-Griffith Funeral Home.

Hall was a longtime westside resident who graduated from Webster High School in 1956.

She recently was honored with the City Council's inaugural Lifetime Public Service Award. She had served on the council from its inception in 1990 until 2000, and her five terms are the most served consecutively by any councilor.

After leaving the council, Hall remained active in the Southwest Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, the Red Fork Main Street Association, Western Neighbors, the Webster High School Alumni Foundation and other organizations.

Hall, who operated an insurance agency, was on the first council after Tulsa switched from a commission form of government in 1990.

In an interview with the Tulsa World, she said she was "scared to death" about running for the District 2 council seat when then-Mayor Rodger Randle asked her to help establish a new form of city government.

She said that when she was elected, "I didn't know beans about city government. None of us did. But we found our way through it, making some mistakes and a lot of progress as we did it."

Hall championed infrastructure, development and public safety in her district.

"Sometimes it was about the smallest of things -- like putting in a stop sign in a certain area to cut down traffic -- but it would thrill people to death," Hall told the Tulsa World. "You would have thought you gave them a million dollars."

Hall lost two bids to reclaim the District 2 seat.

A 2003 special election included Hall and another candidate whose family was involved in a feud with Hall's family over control of a private cemetery.

A 1997 Memorial Day fight among friends and family members at the cemetery was captured on videotape, which made its way to local broadcast news and eventually national television.

Hall was remembered Friday for her dedication to her job and her community.

Former Mayor Susan Savage, who is now Oklahoma's secretary of state, said her political relationship with Hall was not always harmonious, "yet there was never any question about where Darla stood, and she and I always managed, even if we disagreed, to talk about an issue. I really liked that about her."

"We certainly had our disagreements, but I always felt that with Darla, what she said to you is what she really meant," Savage said.

County Commissioner Randi Miller recalled meeting with Hall after Miller decided to run for the District 2 seat.

Miller said Hall apparently liked what she heard and pledged her support.

"She continued to support me through my political career," Miller said. "She was always there for advice and became my political mentor.

"Darla set the gold standard in terms of being conscientious and looking out for her constituents," Miller said.

Current District 2 City Councilor Rick Wescott said he got to know Hall in recent years as the two worked together on issues.

"No one has worked harder for the citizens of Tulsa and, in particular, southwest Tulsa, than Darla," Wescott said. "She devoted her life to public service before, during and after her time on the City Council. Her impact will be felt for a very long time."

Hall is survived by two daughters, Dena Nicholas of Tulsa and Brandy Hickerson of Terlton, and four grandchildren.



STREET NAMING


A section of 33rd West Avenue will be renamed "Darla Hall Boulevard." An unveiling ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the corner of 51st Street and 33rd West Avenue.

For some reason I mainly remember this Darla Hall:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=618555

[Conan71]

I drove up 41st at noon and had forgotten about her service.  The parking lot was packed and cars were parked at least 1/4 mile further west on both sides of 41st.

I wondered if she was going to be laid to rest at the Covey Cemetary, I remembered that as well Grizz.