Lalla Odom, a dedicated elementary school teacher, was born in 1874 and earned her B.A. degree at the age of seventeen in 1891. She pursued further education at Waco Female College and Baylor University before enrolling in the Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati. Her degree from the Conservatory led to a teaching position in music and mathematics at Willie Halsell College in Vineta, Oklahoma.
After marrying Edgar Odom, they moved across Texas and Oklahoma before settling in Austin in 1917. During a population boom in Austin, she was hired to teach at Metz Elementary School. Initially unaware that she was married, the Board of Education informed her at the end of the school year that their policies did not allow married teachers to be employed. A supportive superintendent helped overturn this discriminatory regulation, making Odom the first married woman to receive a permanent teaching contract in Austin.
Odom later headed the mathematics department at Allen Junior High, Texas's first junior high school. To enhance her professional skills, she returned to school and earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Texas, along with additional graduate courses.
Active in professional organizations such as the Classroom Teachers Association, Texas State Teachers Association, and National Education Association, Odom became one of the founding members of Delta Kappa Gamma International Society (DKG) in 1929. The DKG aimed to support women educators against professional discrimination by organizing efforts for mutual assistance and extending membership to teachers at all educational levels.
From 1929-1933, Odom served as corresponding secretary for the state-national organization and chaired several national committees throughout her career. These included roles on the Committee on Constitution (1931-1932), Committee for Legislation (1942-1948; 1952-1956), Committee for Editing the Constitution (1956-1958), National Planning Committee (1948-1952), and Administrative Board (1958-1960).
Lalla Odom passed away on April 14, 1964, and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Austin.