On April 3, 2023, a delightful, compassionate, bull-headed, community-driver left our lives. Lou Lindsey Hall passed away peacefully surrounded by family after an unexpected heart attack and short hospitalization. Lou was 86.
Lou was born in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, in 1936. She played the drums in band. She held fond memories of her childhood in the Valley. As a child, she missed her dad when he was away for several years, doctoring WWII soldiers in the Pacific front. As a freshman at OU, she met her lifetime love, Stacy Hall in the OU band. She earned a bachelor’s degree in dietetics and did her internship in San Francisco. Lou married Stacy in 1954, after her internship ended. They lived for a year in Hermosa Beach, CA, where Stacy had his first teaching job. When they decided to start a family, Lou insisted that they leave the crazy hippies in California and return to PV, where they lived for nearly 40 years.
Lou loved her decades-long career as the dietitian in Pauls Valley General Hospital, which her father, Dr. Ray H. Lindsey, had helped to found. She was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church. She was committed to improving her community – volunteering with Main Street, serving on the boards of the Garvin County Living Center and the Toy and Action Figure Museum. She was a founding member of the Samaritans, which provides food to seniors and persons who can’t afford groceries. She was dedicated to local cancer survivors, and worked hard for the annual Relay for Life. For many years she was known as the “litter lady” of PV, for all the trash she would pick up in the park and along streets. She loved to talk to school groups about healthy eating, and about protecting the environment by not littering.
The PV Tourism Chair relied heavily on Lou’s ideas to bring many features to the City. She also served on the Beautification Committee for many years.
After her retirement from the hospital, Lou enjoyed spending more time with her life-long Pi Phi friends from OU. They would gather annually at a different destination, including PV.
She was recognized with several awards during her lifetime, and the one that meant the most to her was the Rotary’s award for service to others above self. Lou’s steadfast faith in God guided her through life’s ups and downs.
Lou touched so many lives. It’s hard to imagine a Pauls Valley without her. Lou is preceded in death by her mother, Bernice Patterson Lindsey and her father, Ray H. Lindsey, M.D.; her brother, James H. Lindsey, M.D.; her husband, Stacy Lee Hall; her nephew, Mark Harvey Lindsey. She was also preceded in death by her Aunt Doby Pyeatt.
She is survived by daughters, Kathy Hall (Jeff Paine) and Amy Hall (Kevin St. John); niece, Ellen Lindsey Dougherty (Thomas Dougherty) and their two sons; nephew, Gregory Ray Lindsey (Diana Lindsey) and their four children; and many others.
A community sing of toe-tapping music, as Lou requested, will be held on Monday, April 10, 2023, at 11 a.m. at Trinity Baptist Church, Pauls Valley, Oklahoma.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Samaritans or to the charity of your choice.
