Obituary of John Edgar Hall

Dr. John Edgar Hall, 85, of Morgantown, passed away Friday, July 24, 2015 at Monongalia General Hospital. He was born in Meadville, PA on December 28, 1929, the son of the late Wesley Willard Hall and the late Janeva Christie (Trotter) Hall. He graduated from Mount Hermon School, Northfield, MA, and received his BS in Zoology-Chemistry and MS in Zoology from the University of New Hampshire, and PhD in Biological Sciences from Purdue. He was employed from 1958 until his retirement in 1997 as Professor of Microbiology at WVU Health Sciences Center. He served at Walter Reed Hospital in the US Army Medical Corps during the Korean War. John was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Morgantown and was active in interfaith efforts. He was a past President of the Mountaineer Audubon Society, a teacher for more than 18 years at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), and a member of the WVU Collegium Musicum and the American Recorder Society. Additionally he was involved in the Morgantown Green Team and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, counting birds for many years. He volunteered with Boy Scouts and served as a District Commissioner in the Mountaineer Area Council. John actively participated in forming the Global Health program at WVU, and taught in it as long as his health permitted. He belonged to Sigma Xi, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the Helminthological Society of Washington, the Entomological Society of America, the American Society of Parasitology, and AAAS. He was a long-standing and enthusiastic member of the WV Entomological Society. He was an alumnus of the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. He is survived by Judith, his wife of 58 years; two daughters: Martha Gach and husband, Gerard, of Shrewsbury, MA, and Kathy deGraaf and husband, Bruce, of Northborough, MA; a son: John M. Hall and wife Vanessa of Annandale, VA; and six grandchildren: Eva & Margaret Gach, Karina & Stefan deGraaf, and Ben & Natalie Hall. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a grandson, Henry Hall. In accordance with John’s wishes, Hastings Funeral Home has provided cremation services. Friends and family will be recieved at Hastings Funeral Home, 153 Spruce St., Morgantown, on Saturday, Oct 24th from 2 p.m. until the time of the Celebration of Life at 4 p.m. The family would like to thank the staff and physicians of Monongalia General Hospital and Amedisys Hospice for the wonderful care he received. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in John’s memory to the Nature Conservancy of West Virginia, 194 Airport Road, Elkins, WV 26241 or the WVU Foundation- The Judith and John Hall Arts and Science Library Endowment (Fund # 3L157).