Natalie “Tally” Hammock Sweat of Atlanta and Pine Mountain, GA, died August 27 at the age of 88. Tally, along with Sally Harbaugh, was half of a dynamic duo that brought about the restoration and rehabilitation of the Linear Park in Druid Hills, Olmsted’s last residential suburb. Beginning with the Georgia Garden Club’s “Pathways of Gold” effort for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Tally continued her involvement with the Linear Park through the master plan process, launching of the Olmsted Linear Park Alliance and sustained years of fundraising, advocacy and implementation of multiple phases of the project.
A native Georgian, she was a consummate community activist at the local and state levels. With her husband, Dan, who predeceased her in 1997, they formed a power couple known to business leaders, community activists, the charitable giving community and anyone in the southeast involved in conservation efforts. A committed member of garden clubs and longtime legislative chairman for the Garden Club of Georgia, a founder of advocacy organization Park Pride Atlanta and then its historian, Tally was a tireless advocate for public education and her alma mater Georgia State University. She learned much about how to manage her way through the halls of power from her husband Dan, who equipped her to move out on her own after his death. It is often said that when the need is great, a hero will emerge— Tally was such a hero. Tally rose to the occasion precisely when Olmsted’s Druid Hills needed her the most.
Practical, pragmatic, politically astute and focused, Tally served as a trustee of the National Association for Olmsted Parks (NAOP), now the Olmsted Network.
Tally was predeceased by her husband and a son and is survived by a sister, two children, their spouses, seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren as well as hosts of friends and admirers who will miss her drive, passion, commitment, zeal and love for living.
Alida Silverman and Spencer Tunnell are both Georgians. Silverman is a former board member of the Olmsted Network, and Tunnell is a current board member of the Olmsted Network.
