Former University Park Mayor Barbara Hitzelberger Dies
Barbara Hitzelberger-Wooten, the first woman elected to University Park City Council and only woman to serve as the city’s mayor, died Aug. 3. She was 93 years old.
“Barbara was a remarkable individual, with an abundance of talent, interests and leadership skills,” Mayor Olin Lane Jr. said in a statement. “She will be dearly missed by all who worked with her and knew her.”
A memorial service and reception will be held at 10 a.m. this Wednesday at Lovers Lane United Methodist Church, 9200 Inwood Road.
Hitzelberger-Wooten moved to University Park in 1962, and her civic engagement with the city began in the mid-1980s with her involvement on various boards and commissions, according to a news release.
In 1988, she was appointed a City Commissioner. And after her election to the city council in 1990, she served a two-year term as mayor from 1992 to 1994.
Hitzelberger-Wooten was a constant supporter of the city’s park systems and was involved with various park beautification projects. While mayor, she worked to establish a separate parks department, instituted the city’s Mile-Per-Year utility improvement program, and oversaw the completion of the Fondren Water Tower project.
Hitzelberger-Wooten also served the community and Dallas area through the Highland Park Junior High PTA, Dallas Alumnae Chapter of Delta Delta Delta, Village Review Book Club, SMU Panhellenic Council, and the HPISD Education Foundation.
Her board memberships include the Dallas Woman’s Club, SMU Alumni Association, La Fiesta de la Seis Bandera, Park Cities YMCA, Cornerstone Bank, and honorary chairperson of the Dallas Museum of Natural History.
Among her civic honors: the naming of a scholarship in her honor at Highland Park High School awarded annually to the female senior who excels in leadership, the Highland Park High School’s Highlander Award, and her selection as Grand Marshal of the 2004 Park Cities July 4 Parade.
In 2010, Hitzelberger Park, located at the intersection of Lovers Lane and Hillcrest Avenue, was dedicated in her honor.
