Carl Wayne Hale

Carl Wayne Hale, 87, of Tulsa passed away peacefully at home on Sunday October 20, 2024. Carl was born to Jess and Grace Hale on September 30, 1937 near Zena, Oklahoma. He was a devoted husband to Sue Beth Hale, a dedicated father to John Hale, and a proud grandparent to all his grandchildren.

Carl grew up in Delaware County and graduating from Delaware School in 1951 and from Grove High School in 1955. In between stints working on pipelines, he attended Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in Miami, Oklahoma and Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Education degree in 1964. He subsequently earned a Masters in Teaching from Northeastern State and a Masters of Science Education from Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. He married the love of his life, Sue Beth Cox, in 1963, and five years later their son John arrived.

Carl dedicated his career to education in the Tulsa Public School system as a teacher of earth science and chemistry at Roosevelt Junior High and at Will Rogers High School until his retirement. As a teacher, Carl’s curiosity and passion for learning was infectious, and all who knew him recognized his deep and encyclopedic knowledge of nature and science.

Carl never met a stranger and could strike up a conversation with almost anybody on almost any topic. He enjoyed holding court at his coffee club and the friendships he developed there were special and enduring. Everyone who encountered Carl was subject to his wry sense of humor. His humor was always good-natured but often hidden. It was not uncommon to walk away from a conversation with Carl wondering if he was pulling your leg. These are the gems Carl gave to family and friends on a daily basis.

He is survived by his wife, Sue Beth, son John Hale and wife Kayla Hale, grandchildren James Hale, Julia Hale, Robert Hale and Connor Acebo, sister Pauline Hale and her husband Jim Corbridge, sister Darlene Sanders and her husband Larry Sanders, and brother Bill Hale and his wife Renee Blevins Hale.  He is preceded in death by his parents Jess and Grace, his older brother Jim Hale, and an infant brother George.

The family will receive visitors at Ninde Funeral Home in Tulsa on Thursday October 24, 2024, between 5-7 p.m. A graveside service will be held Friday, October 25, 2024, at 2 p.m. in Zena Cemetery near Jay, Oklahoma. In remembrance of Carl’s life, the family asks that any charitable donations be made to The Foundation for Tulsa Schools.