In the coming days, you’re likely to see and hear a lot about Ebby Halliday, the remarkable realty doyenne who passed away Tuesday night at the age of 104. You’ll hear, as we’ve chronicled in D CEO over the years, that she was an optimist, a trailblazer, the savviest of savvy businesswomen, someone who was genuinely thoughtful about others. Also importantly, Ebby was a true and consistent believer in individual initiative, limited government, and free enterprise. She loved her late husband Maurice Acers, Ronald Reagan, Dirk and the Dallas Mavericks–and her many friends.
My wife, Jeanne Prejean, and I feel lucky to have counted ourselves among them. Ebby and her longtime assistant, Betty Turner, attended our “surprise wedding” in 1999. Three months ago, we received a mailed packet from Ebby Halliday Realtors containing items from the event in a see-through folder. Betty explained that Ebby had recently come across the invitation and a few newspaper clippings about the occasion, and thought that we might enjoy seeing them again.
The words “legend” and “giant” are way over-used. But our friend Ebby Halliday really was both. R.I.P.
