Thank You Ebby Halliday

I am not a realtor.  I have never met Ebby Halliday but if you live in the Dallas area, you know of Ebby Halliday and her impact on the Real Estate industry and North Texas.  She truly is an icon. Although, I never personally had the privilege of meeting  her, I have friends who are realtors that have met Ebby Halliday.  My husband met her as a valet parking attendant while he was in college 30 yrs ago and all say that she treated everyone well and she had a spark in her eye and she was inspiring.   I am inspired.

This past week when we learned of her passing at the age of 104, we were all saddened.  Her name was the top trending topic on my Twitter and everyone shared their love and kind thoughts of Ebby. She is known as the Dutchess of Dallas or the Queen of Real Estate. As I have read many of the articles about Ebby Halliday, I was inspired.  Here some of the reasons that I say "Thank You" to Ebby Halliday:

• Thank you for being an inspiration to women in business.      Ebby Halliday helped lead the way for many women in business. She started out selling merchandise to help her family through the depression which eventually led to her selling hats at a department store in Kansas.  She was transferred to a store in Dallas where she sold hats to Clint Murchison 's  wife.  He told her that if she could sell those crazy hats to his wife then maybe she could sell his crazy homes (he had 50 single-spec houses made of insulated concrete) and she did.  The rest is history. She founded Ebby Halliday Realtors in 1945. Today it is the largest residential real estate Service company in Texas and is ranked 10th in the nation.  She was inducted into the Dallas Business Hall of Fame and Texas Business Hall of Fame.  She received numerous awards for business an she served as an inspiration and model for other women in business.  

• Thank you for being an encouragement to others      All that knew her said that she had a spirit about her that would lift your spirit. She treated people well and was known as honest and hard working. All of the messages, tweets that have poured within hours of learning of her passing evidenced all of the lives she touched.   

• Thank you for your community service     Ebby's philanthropic  impact and service to the Dallas community has had a major impact on the area.  She has given her time serving on numerous boards and organizations within the community.   She gave fully of herself to the community.   This can been seen in the YMCA Women's Center named Ebby's Place  and the Juliette Fowler Communities  The Ebby House.  And she also was  named a member of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans. 

• Thank you for being strong to the end  At the age of 104 Ebby Halliday was still going strong.  She was still going to meetings, serving on boards and working. This is truly inspiring. She truly lived a full life. When she left this earth it was peaceful in her sleep surrounded by loved ones.  Wow, what a beautiful life and what a blessing we all had in Ebby Halliday. 

Yesterday a memorial service was held for Ebby Halliday.  It was streamed live on all of the local Dallas stations.  On Wednesday Downtown Dallas was lit up in red in her honor.  I join the Dallas Community in saying Thank you Ebby for a life well lived.