Alma W. Hale

Alma Woodard Hale — An Extraordinarily Beautiful Woman Who Did Things Her Way

Our lives were all forever changed with the unexpected death of Alma Woodard Hale on July 21, 2023 at the age of 79. She leaves behind a beloved daughter and son-in-law, two granddaughters, one great-grandson, two sisters, and nieces and nephews along with a host of other family members and friends. Her husband, James Edward Hale, preceded her in death shortly after they were married in 1962.

Alma left her parents’ home down on the Lake Bottom in Plain Dealing, Louisiana at the young age of 16 having skipped two grades and graduated high school early. Her mother told her that she would either have to go to school or cook and clean houses for people. In true fashion, she told her Mama that she wasn’t about to do that for people who did not look like her. Truth be told, we all know her well enough to know that you were not about to tell her what she could or could not do. Period.

So off she went to Shreveport to live with her Daddy’s first cousins to find her way. She later attended Grambling University and after completing business school and working at White’s Printing Shop, she had a successful career at Marathon Oil Company, where she retired early as a Senior Accountant after 25 years of service. Her experiences of having been a Black woman in a corporate office in downtown Shreveport shaped her into the strong, determined, and independent woman that she has always been.

Indeed, she turned down an offer to get married to an educated and successful gentleman because she said she was more than capable to take care of herself and her young daughter, who she later put through college on her own. Alma’s fierce determination also allowed her to live independently with dementia for over 15 years, where even up to her untimely death she was still able to enjoy life to its fullest without physical limitations. The fact that she could still do things such as play games on her iPad, complete word search puzzles, walk for miles and miles, and take care of personal daily activities is a testament to her sheer will power and determination.

She lived a full and complete life after moving to California with her daughter and her family, where she had two amazing caregivers, Toria and Audrey, who ensured that she stayed engaged and lived an active life. They came daily as trusted companions to ensure that she lived life to the fullest and both enjoyed going with her on hikes, shopping, gardening, yacht cruises, day trips, concerts and events, cooking and playing games together, and of course there was a fair share of cracking jokes involved.

Alma will be sorely missed for her quick wit and comebacks, wicked sense of humor, playful spirt, jovial energy, and infectious laugh. I’m sure she’s up in Heaven mixing things up a bit even now and keeping everyone in stitches with laughter.