Obituary of Lila Mae Hall

Lila Mae Hall died peacefully on Tuesday, February 14, 2023

She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Herbert Hall

Lila is survived by her younger sister, Joyce Wood of Casa Grande, AZ, her two children, Brian Hall of Pinson, AL and Cindy Miranti of Tucson, AZ, three grandchildren, Marcus Miranti, Jesse Hall, and Liberty Hall, 4 nephews, 2 nieces, 1 grandniece, 2 grandnephews.

Lila, the oldest of three sisters, born to parents Harvey and Etta Reichert in Fayette Township Illinois, was raised on a farm in Martinton, IL situated between Watseka and Kankakee in northern Illinois. She attended high school in St. Anne and was the first woman in her family to attend college. She attended SIU at Carbondale, IL and graduated with a Bachelors’ of Science Degree in 1952. Having excelled in Chemistry, she then enrolled in graduate school at University of Kansas in Lawrence. Here she met her future husband and cowboy, Herbert Hall, an undergraduate student in Chemistry. After marrying in 1953, they moved to the Mohave Desert in California to work at the China Lake Naval base. In 1955, they moved to Ann Arbor, MI, where she finished her Masters’ Degree in Chemistry in 1957. In 1959, after giving birth to her daughter, they moved to Pennsylvania State University at State College. In 1960 they moved back to Lawrence, KS, and then in 1964, after the birth of her son, they moved to Carbondale, IL. She lived there for over 50 years, raising her family, earning an Associate Degree in Applied Sciences in 1979 and working at SIU for 15 years as a computer programmer for administrative accounting. In 2016, she moved to Tucson, AZ to be near her daughter and lived a very comfortable life until her death at 92 years of age.

Lila and Herb were active members in the First Christian Church and avid Rockhounds, until his untimely death in 1989. Many summers were spent traveling and camping in pursuit of the perfect rockhound site. Lila actively pursued her own hobbies, including crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, sewing, cooking, reading, walking, and writing poetry. For 15 years she walked the trail around campus lake on her lunch hour.

Lila’s family would like to thank the staff at The Fountains for their dedication to her well being and care throughout the 7 years she resided there.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the SIU Foundation or the American Cancer Society. You can reach out to the family by email at ckmiranti@gmail.com or bhallhere@gmail.com