Verna Marie Kyle Hall

Verna Marie Kyle Hall, 92, died peacefully at home in Tyler, Texas, on March 31, 2024. Born to Effie and Willie Kyle in Gibsland, Louisiana, Verna moved with her parents and brother to Rusk, Texas, around the time she entered elementary school, where George Hall was among her classmates. After attending junior high, Rusk High School, and North Texas State University together, Verna and George married in 1954. Her husband survives her, as do her son Kyle Hall and Kyle’s partner Joe Gall, both of Dallas. A spirited go-getter throughout her academic years, Verna was equally driven as a legal secretary and oil & gas secretary in Tyler early in her marriage. However, she truly found her purpose in the late 1960s when she began to volunteer with and support local charities and arts organizations. For the rest of her life, Verna was convinced – and very vocal – about how Tyler residents and Smith County-based businesses should support the city’s civic and cultural institutions in appreciation of the wonderful way of life Tyler offers. After more than 50 years of tireless work on community projects and civic campaigns, a partial list of places where Verna raised funds, led committees, held office, or served on the board looks like a directory of the best of her beloved Tyler: 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, and the Texas Rose Festival’s Order of the Rose. 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. She treasured the relationships she had with her friends. Her delight in seeing them was never in doubt. In 1993, Verna received United Way’s most distinguished recognition for philanthropy, the Alexis de Tocqueville Award, for 20 years of dedication. In 2014, in honor of another two decades of service, the United Way of Smith County named its leadership giving program the Verna K. Hall Leadership Circle. As with other honors for her community work, she was grateful for the recognition but quick to say that if the results of her efforts were to Tyler’s benefit, then the work was its own reward. Verna was preceded in death by her brother and sister-in-law, Herschel and Sue Kyle, and a nephew, Kent Kyle. In addition to her husband George, son Kyle, and Kyle’s partner Joe, her survivors include many cousins, her niece Kay Rice, and her nephew Kelly Kyle. Her husband’s nieces and nephews Rosemary Breedlove, Susan Campbell, Raymond Ross Vermillion, and Walter Vermillion also survive her, as do many great-nieces and great-nephews. The family thanks the devoted caregivers organized by Lee Johnson for the dutiful attention they gave Verna, which allowed her to live the end of her life as she wanted. Hospice of East Texas also receives grateful appreciation. Interment will be private. A public service will be announced at a later date. For those interested, the family suggests donations to the United Way of Smith County (uwsmithcounty.org) or to an East Texas-based charity of the donor’s choice, “just as long as your donation stays local and helps local!” as Verna would say.