Loved antiques, animals, music

LITTLE ROCK — Carla Hall’s 8-acre property on the outskirts of Pulaski County became an animal oasis, even for a wandering ostrich.

“We looked out one day and grazing in our front yard probably 75 to 100 feet, no more, from our deck was this ostrich,” that came from the house of a neighbor who had fallen ill, said Hall’s husband, Ray Hall. “She called him, and he had heart trouble [so he] said, ‘I’ll just come down and shoot it,’ and she said no.”

In addition to the ostrich, animals of all kinds — from deer to Dobermans — were welcome, and they brought her a lot of joy, her husband said.

Carla Jean Aken Green Hampton Solomon Hall died at St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center in Little Rock from heartfailure complications, her family said.

She was 82.

She spent her youth enjoying time on her grandparents’ farm in southern Illinois.

“Being around animals, being exposed to the country life, it’s kind of what she knew best,” said her son, Barry Green.

For more than 30 years, she worked at Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., eventually becoming a personnel manager.

“She gave many motivational speeches on how to get the most out of your employees by positive thinking,” said her daughter, Becky Brogdon. “That was before there were a lot of women in the upper ranks. She was a pioneer.”

Always seeing the silver lining, her three divorces didn’t damage her spirit.

“My mother was what I refer to as a ‘serial marrier,’” her daughter said, laughing. “She was an eternal optimist about everything.”

In 197 1 , her family moved to Ferndale. She eventually met Ray Hall at a dance class.

“The odd thing is, we’ve never been dancing since,” Hall said. “I still don’t care to dance.”

However, the couple, who married in 1993, shared a love for music. At a young age, Carla Hall started singing solos in church and later at local nightclubs, her son said.

“My mother was a big ham,” her daughter said. “She’d just break out into song if we were eating at a restaurant and they were playing music.”

In 1990, the Halls opened the Old Stuff Store on their property, selling antique furniture for more than 10 years.

“We put in a store of high-quality antiques nine miles from town on a dead-end road,” her husband said. They relied on word of mouth to get customers. “She was a fantastic decorator.”

She enjoyed all animals, even BB Queen — her jealous ostrich that wouldn’t let women near the ranch’s male caretaker.

“The ostrich fell in love with Mark,” her husband said. “She made it a point to never go out there with Mark there.”

To the dismay of local hunters, Carla Hall outlawed guns on her property so the dogs, cats, horses and deer could live in peace. However, she was unable to protect BB Queen, who escaped and was hit by a car.

“She had a decent Christian burial for this wayward ostrich,” her son said. “She had a big hole dug, buried her near her house ... had a service for it.”

Carla Hall’s love for antiques and animals ultimately decided her final resting place. Ray Hall said they came across a special urn at a sale.

“She looked at it, I looked at it and we had the same thought — we want that for our ashes,” her husband said, choking back tears. “Half her ashes will be in that urn and all of my ashes. In its simplicity, it’s gorgeous with horses on it. Anything with animals, she loved.”