Ebby Halliday

{{Short description|American businesswoman}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Ebby Halliday

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name = Vera Lucille Koch

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1911|03|09}}

| birth_place = Leslie, Arkansas, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2015|09|08|1911|03|09}}

| death_place = Dallas, Texas, U.S.

| other_names =

| occupation = Real Estate Entrepreneur

| years_active =

| known_for =

| notable_works =

}}

Ebby Halliday (born Vera Lucille Koch;[http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Ebby-Halliday-Dallas-Real-Estates-Most-Beloved-Icon-Has-Died-at-104-325938961.html "Ebby Halliday, Dallas Real Estate's Most Beloved Icon, Has Died at 104"], nbcdfw.com, September 9, 2015. March 9, 1911 – September 8, 2015) was an American realtor and businesswoman who founded Ebby Halliday Realtors.

She was one of the first successful female entrepreneurs in Dallas and is recognized as the "First Lady of Real Estate". John S. Baen, a professor of real estate at the University of North Texas in Denton comments, she was the first woman to enter what was a chauvinistic profession in a macho state and that she beat those ol' boys at their own game.{{Cite news|last=Murphy|first=Kate|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/25/realestate/national-perspectives-in-texas-no-one-is-bigger-than-ebby.html|title=NATIONAL PERSPECTIVES; In Texas, No One Is Bigger Than Ebby|date=2004-07-25|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-04-06|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}

Halliday was born in Leslie, Arkansas,[http://www.dallasnews.com/business/business-headlines/20150909-with-grace-and-grit-real-estate-titan-ebby-halliday-acers-paved-the-way-for-women.ece "With grace and grit, real estate titan Ebby Halliday Acers paved the way for women"] by Cheryl Hall and Joe Simnacher. The Dallas Morning News, September 9, 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-10. and graduated from high school in Abilene, Kansas, in 1929. She got a $10-a-week job selling women's hats at The Jones Store in Kansas City. In less than a year, she was the top salesperson. In 1938, she was asked to take over the millinery department at Dallas' W.A. Green Store. Soon she had her own Dallas boutique, Ebby's Hats.Nixon, Caroline. You Never Know Until You Ask, p. 6. She founded her real estate company in 1945.[http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Ebby-Halliday-Dallas-Real-Estates-Most-Beloved-Icon-Has-Died-at-104-325938961.html Ebby Halliday, Dallas Real Estate's Most Beloved Icon, Has Died at 104]. NBCDFW.com, September 9, 2015.

Halliday married former FBI agent Maurice Acers in 1965.[http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2007/july/ebby-halliday-the-woman-who-still-sells-dallas Ebby Halliday: The Woman Who (Still) Sells Dallas]. D Magazine, July 2007. Retrieved 2014-02-03."Realty Briefs: National Home Week Points Up Strength Via Ownership" by Jim Stephenson. The Dallas Morning News, September 12, 1965; retrieved 2014-02-03. Maurice Acers died in 1993.Cheryl Hall. [http://www.dallasnews.com/business/columnists/cheryl-hall/20110115-approaching-100-ebby-halliday-says-go-easy-on-the-candles.ece Approaching 100, Ebby Halliday says go easy on the candles], The Dallas Morning News, January 15, 2011; retrieved 2014-02-03. She celebrated her 100th birthday on March 9, 2011.[http://www.parkcitiespeople.com/community/ebby-turns-104-today-encourages-donations/ Ebby Turns 104 Today, Encourages Donations] by Sarah Bennett. Park Cities People, March 9, 2015; retrieved September 9, 2015. She died at the age of 104 on September 8, 2015, in her sleep, with her friends and family by her side.[http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Ebby-Halliday-Dallas-Real-Estates-Most-Beloved-Icon-Has-Died-at-104-325938961.html Ebby Halliday, Dallas Real Estate's Most Beloved Icon, Has Died at 104], nbcdfw.com; accessed September 9, 2015.