Dorothy Hall

She was born in the spring of 1929 in Hollis, Oklahoma at the start of the dustbowl and the great depression. By 1931 the family farm was nothing but dust. They walked away from it and went to Denison, Texas. Her family sharecropped cotton. They all worked the fields and picked the cotton at harvest time. At the start of World War ll. She and her older sister started working at an egg packaging plant. She was 12. That job lasted until she graduated high school. Her older sister Bonnie married an airman who was transferred to the Amarillo air base in 1950. At Bonnie's urging she moved there. She found work at the 1st National Bank of Amarillo and quickly advanced.

She met the love of her life, Jim Hall in 1951 and married in 1952. By 1956 she was the bank president's chief assistant. She gave birth to her first child in 1957. In the winter of 1959 Jim took a large promotion and the family was off to Fort Smith, AR. Dorothy was pregnant and gave birth to their daughter in August 1959. They joined First Presbyterian Church that same year. Jim was the general manager of Long Bell Lumber at Towson and Dodson.

They built their home in 1962 on North 58th terrace. That neighborhood was a family Shangri-La. Kids were welcome in every home. Block parties were had regularly. The families built lifetime friendships. The best 20 years of their lives were spent in Fort Smith. In 1979 Jim took another promotion and they moved to Kansas City. By 1981 they missed Arkansas and both took jobs in Little Rock. Dorothy became manager of Waldenbergers luggage and gifts. Her clientele included the Clinton's and their Hollywood crowd.

Jim had a major stroke in 1984 that left him unable to work outside the home. By 1989 they moved back to Kansas City to be by her kids. She started working at Bag and Baggage of Overland Park, Kansas. She quickly became manager there and kept working until 2003. She and Jim moved to a house in Mississippi by their son.

Jim died in 2009 and Dorothy pressed on. She always said life is worth living. So, she did!

Jim is buried in the National Cemetery here in Fort Smith and she came home to be with him.

Survivors include daughter Donna (Tony); step grandsons Vinnie (Jennifer), Andy (Karina) and 6 Great Grandchildren Yulissa, Angel, Anthony, Jules, Victor and Penelope all of Kansas City.

Son Steve Hall of Fort Smith, AR ;grandchildren, Dana Alvarez-Keys, (Tim) Liberty MO, Johnica Budenbender, (Pat) Lawrence, Kansas, Karen Hustead, (Dennis) Shawnee, Kansas, Elia Swartz, (Chris) Liberty, Missouri, Damon Alvarez, Olathe, Kansas, Julian Alvarez, (Lynette) Northmoor, MO, Jason Hall, Fort Smith AR, Danielle Hall, Strayhorn MS.

A visitation for Dorothy will be held Thursday, April 17, 2025 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Edwards Funeral Home, 201 North 12th Street, Fort Smith, AR 72901. Funeral service will begin at 12:00 PM. Following the service, Dorothy will be laid to rest with her husband at the Fort Smith National Cemetery, 522 Garland Avenue, Fort Smith, AR 72901.