Katie Hall funeral Saturday at Genesis Center
by carole Carlson ccarlson@post-trib.com February 21, 2012 5:38PM
Katie Hall, Jesse Jackson and Gary mayor Richard Hatcher at a rally in 1984. | File~Sun-Times Media
Updated: March 23, 2012 8:14AM
GARY — Katie Hall should be remembered for all the good she did and not one mistake, a family spokesman said Tuesday.
The former U.S. congresswoman and Gary city clerk died Monday at age 73 from cancer.
A public viewing will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Friday, at Van Buren Baptist Church, 2585 Van Buren St. There will be a musical tribute performed by the Van Buren Baptist Church Choir from 5 to 6 p.m., followed by a tribute by sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc. from 6 to 7 p.m.
The church is also the site of the 11 a.m. Saturday funeral.
Family representative Don Thompson said Hall, in her final days, selected one of the hymns, “The Last Mile of the Way,” for the conclusion of her funeral.
Thompson said Hall’s husband of 55 years, John Henry Hall, was at her side when she died.
“The last several weeks she was experiencing a lot of suffering from the illness,” said Thompson. “He sees it the Lord’s will to let her go to her resting place.”
While in Congress, Hall sponsored the 1983 law that made the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a national holiday.
But as city clerk in 2003, she pleaded guilty to four of 22 federal counts of mail fraud, extortion and racketeering for making workers raise money for her re-election campaign to keep their jobs. Hall escaped a prison sentence but her daughter Junifer Hall served 16 months.
“Of course, there was a very unfortunate time with the incident that got a lot of negative press,” Thompson said. “But I believe what this woman did in pushing for a national holiday will be in the minds of generations to come and that was far more important than one mistake.”
In 1982, Hall finished the term of U.S. Rep. Adam Benjamin Jr. who died two months before the fall election. She won one term in Congress, becoming the first black Hoosier elected to Congress.
As a state representative and state senator, Hall was instrumental in establishing the Genesis Center, Hudson-Campbell Fitness Center, and the Adam Benjamin Metro Center, Thompson said.
“Katie worked hard in Washington to make sure Martin Luther King Jr. received national recognition for his fight for civil rights, and she never forgot her humble beginnings or those in Indiana she represented,” said Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker.
City officials said Tuesday Hall’s motorcade will travel north on Broadway from the church to the Genesis Center in a final tribute.
Reach reporter Carole Carlson at 648-3154.
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