September 13, 2011, William T. Hall passed away quietly in the arms of his loving wife of thirty-seven years. Will was born on April 8, 1951 and was raised just outside of Dayton, Ohio in a large extended family. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1969 right out of high school, and after graduating from technical school, Will was assigned to the Combat Control Team at Hurlburt Field, Florida.
On New Years Eve in 1972, Will and Brenda L. Mains met and fell in love. In March 1974, they married and soon received orders for Elmondorf Air Force Base, Alaska where they spent three glorious, fun-filled years in the great outdoors. In 1977, Will separated from the active duty military and chose to move back to paradise here in Northwest Florida, where he soon entered the Air Force Reserves and completed his 20 years of service at Duke Field, Florida.
In 1979, Will and Brenda opened and managed the Flowercart Florist along with another local couple, Dr Keith and Lynne Amiel. In 1989, after selling the florist Will found a job with Civil Service at Sight C-6 in the Freeport area.
In 1991, Will began his battle with cancer. During his initial surgery and chemotherapy, it was only with the help of the leave days donated by his co-workers that Will was able to focus on healing, recovering, and returning to work in remission. Thank you once again. Over the past twenty years, Will’s cancer has returned, and three times he was forced back into surgery. Each time he soldiered on without complaint.
Just before his death, Will was again diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer and he and Brenda went to Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville to seek treatment. The chemotherapy was too much this time, and Will spent his last days in the care of Alive Hospice in Nashville Tennessee.
Will was preceded in death by his parents Carl Melvin and Virginia Lee of Bellbrook, Ohio, one younger brother Joe, and his uncle Dave; his parents-in-law Bob and Phyllis Mains. Will is survived by his devoted wife Brenda L. (Mains) Hall, his brothers Steve Hall and wife Janette and Donald Hall and wife Linda; his sisters Linda and husband Fred Wilburn, Joanne and husband Brian Jelley, and Mary Hall; Uncle Tom and Aunt Katie Walton and family and Uncle Bill Walton; sisters-in-law Donna Juslin-Moorcroft and partner Teri Mylett, April F. Mains, Roberta and husband Terry Berry, and Lucinda and husband Bobby Eucker; nephews Donny, Alexander, James, Josh, Zack and wife Stephanie and son Zayne, Andrew and wife Sarah and son Levi, Joshua, and Brandon; nieces Diana and son Andrew, Angela and sons Joey and Jordon, Kelly and husband Jeremie and son Malaki, Beth and daughter Taya, and Ashlea; his “scout troop” Kaleo, Iain, Louis, and Kyle; and many, many “brothers in arms”
and loving cousins and friends.
Will was medically retired for the last ten years of his life, and he and Brenda traveled the country extensively, enjoying all our natural gifts and wonders. Will was an active member of the Air Commando and Combat Control Associations and a proud Okaloosa Democrat. He was an unabashed patriot. Will kept a beautiful garden at his “Florida Vacation Home” here in Mary Esther and was a shameless “tree hugger.” He is sorely missed by all the neighborhood’s stay cats, wild birds, turtles, and snakes too.
William will be remembered at a “celebration of life” to be held at the Soundside Club at Hurlburt Field on Saturday October 1, at 5:00 pm. A RSVP will be required for friends who would like to attend, but don’t have a Military ID Card – please call 244-0633 and leave a message by the evening of Sept. 28.
We will also hold a celebration on the evening of October 28 for all his Combat Control friends to attend during their reunion.
Friends who wish may contribute in memory of William T. Hall to the Fisher House of the Emerald Coast, PO Box 2007, Eglin AFB, FL 32542. Will’s family would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Ming-Chen Chang and Dr. Harvey Hsiang and their staff for the extra twenty wonder-filled years that we shared with Will.
No comments:
Post a Comment