Obituary of Anthony Donaldson Tall

Anthony Donaldson Tall, age 87, of Morgantown, West Virginia, passed away of congestive heart failure on April 17, 2014 surrounded by his family. Don, as he was known, was born in Baltimore, Maryland on March 7, 1927, the only child of Webster Carleton Tall and Adele Donaldson Tall. He graduated high school from Baltimore City College, joined the Merchant Marines, and then was drafted into the US Army in 1945. When Don was honorably discharged, he entered Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, graduating in 1950. While at Washington College, Don majored in political science, played lacrosse, and he and a few friends who were not invited to join fraternities because of their ethnicity or religion, joined together and started their own housing/living association. Upon graduation, Don joined the US Marines as a lieutenant and became a member of the unexploded bomb ordinance unit. Don entered Berkeley Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut, an Episcopal seminary, graduating in 1959 with a student award for leadership. Don met Christine Vassar while working together in the New Haven office of the Connecticut State Welfare Department, and they were married in 1961. They had two children, Stephen and Catherine. Don graduated from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work in 1963 and began his career in forensic social work at the Connecticut State Department of Mental Health, retiring as a Supervising Social Worker in the Courts Diagnostic Clinic in Hartford, Connecticut in 1987. He lived with his family in Cheshire, Connecticut for forty-four years and was an active member of St. Peter's Episcopal Church and involved in Diocesan affairs. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University. Don loved outdoor sports such as canoeing and orienteering, as well as military and family history. He instilled his love of the outdoors in his children and continued his participation until his late seventies. Don was active in the Appalachian Mountain Club, New England Orienteering Club, Cheshire Land Trust, the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association, the Valley Vagabonds, and the Air Force Roundtable, as well as co-founding the Western Connecticut Orienteering Club. In addition to hiking across Scotland twice in the Ultimate Challenge, Don completed several Outward Bound expeditions, attended over 25 Elderhostels, and was the Secretary General of the 1993 World Orienteering Championship. Don was also interested in the Tall family history, following in his father's footsteps. He spent many hours in the library in Cambridge, Maryland researching the Tall family who settled in "Tobacco Stick," now known as Madison, in 1660 and later migrated to Taylors Island. His ashes will be laid to rest at Old Trinity Church in Church Creek, Maryland near Taylors Island later this year. Don and Christine moved to Morgantown in 2012 to be near their daughter Catherine and subsequently to the Village of Heritage Point. He not only leaves his wife Christine of fifty three years, but his son, Stephen, daughter-in-law Anne, and grandchildren, Christopher, Samuel, Emily, and Charles, as well as daughter, Catherine, son-in-law James Siekmeier, and granddaughter, Claire. His close family and English relatives always enjoyed his good humor and wide ranging interests. In memory of Don, those wishing may send a contribution either to the Dorchester County Historical Society at 1003 Greenway Dr, Cambridge, MD 21613, or the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale at 409 Prospect Street, New Haven CT 06511. Send condolences online at www.hastingsfuneralhome.com.