
We were grateful to have the Hales family as well as a number of friends, neighbors, and constituents in attendance. Cindy Richards, former City Council Member and a close friend of the Hales family, offered the invocation.
As part of the tribute to Hales, the Provo City Honor Guard brought in and posted the flags at the Council Meeting, including the first new Provo City flag produced. Gary Garrett and Kim Santiago then read the following:
Provo
Municipal Council
Tribute to Stephen A. Hales
Tribute to Stephen A. Hales
June 4, 1959 – January
21, 2015
Provo Municipal Council
Member, January 2014 – January 2015
Provo’s Municipal
Council and its community have been served well over the past year by Stephen
Hales, who passed away two weeks ago. As
a Council we were stunned and saddened to receive the unexpected news of his passing
the day following our Tuesday, January 20 Council Meeting. Stephen was excused from this meeting, but we
knew that he wanted to be here, and we learned later that he even tried to
come.
Stephen Allan Hales was
born on June 4, 1959, in Provo. He spent his childhood in Provo, then moved to
Santaquin at the age of fourteen. After graduating with honors from Payson High
School he served an LDS mission in Bolivia. Following his service he attended
Brigham Young University and earned a BFA in graphic design, followed by an MA
in art history. He married his sweetheart, Calli White, in 1986 and they
eventually settled into their historic family home in Provo where they have
been for over 25 years, raising their seven beautiful children.
Stephen’s commitment to
Provo was shown in many ways. He built his successful graphic design and
advertising business, Stephen Hales Creative, and was an adjunct professor at
Brigham Young University for 30 years. He served various in various
organizations, including positions in his church, on the Utah National Parks
Council Executive Board, and with the Freedom Festival. He recently became the
graphic design department head at Utah Valley University. In addition to
Stephen’s recent position on the Municipal Council, he also served on the Provo
Landmarks Commission for 16 years.
Council members and
Council staff have expressed their love for Stephen and Calli and for their
family members, several of whom are here.
By way of a tribute to Stephen, we share with you some of these thoughts
and expressions:
The loss of Stephen
Hales is a great loss to our community.
His love for our city and for the people who live here is evident as we
consider the legacy he left. His influence and his contributions are manifest
through his work on the Council and his many years of service on the Provo
Landmarks Commission. His influence will
continue to have an impact on Provo’s direction and bright future.
We have truly been
blessed to have known such a kind and thoughtful person. He was
principle-driven and reflective in his decision-making. Other words used to describe Stephen are
gracious, soft-spoken, and genuinely sincere.
He was also compassionate, intelligent, creative, and filled with
integrity. He was one of those rare people who lived his life with such
integrity that he inspired trust immediately, so he was easy to be counted
quickly as a friend.
We learned at his
funeral that he was also a great husband, father, businessman, and religious
leader, and he is a great example to us. His professional and community life were
reflective of his private life, and he was true to himself and his strongly
held beliefs.
Though he had many other
obligations outside his Council service, he never hesitated to take time to
meet with fellow council members or to give support when needed. He took the
time necessary to understand an issue fully, and he was an advocate for all,
including the underserved.
We are grateful for our
association with Stephen and for the opportunity to have worked with him on our
Council. We are a better Council, a
better community, and we are better people because of Stephen and his
influence. We acknowledge his many contributions to our community, and we
extend our wishes of peace and love to the Hales family.
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