March 5, 2024
Heavenly choirs may be singing a bit off-key as Joel Fredric Hall brought his tone-deaf karaoke talents to their ranks on March 5, 2024, at the age of 77.
The first child of Fred Milton Hall Jr. and Ellen Nielson Hall, he was born in a chicken coop in Manti, Utah. His family moved to Washington Terrace shortly after where he was joined by three younger sisters. He graduated from Bonneville High School and then went on to Weber State College before finally graduating from Utah State University with a degree in Range Management.
While at Weber, Joel helped a damsel in distress find her contact in a swimming pool, and after an eventful courtship marked by several near-death experiences, Mary Irvine succumbed to his country boy charms. Foregoing a return to the chicken coop for their wedding, they married in the Manti Temple on April 10, 1969. Joel was 22 at the time; 22, 12 and 270 were all important numbers as hunting was a lifelong passion bordering on obsession.
For Joel the four seasons were: fishing season, hunting season, Christmas and then the season of telling “mostly true” hunting and fishing stories while trying to pay off the massive debts he accumulated by over-spending on Christmas. His three sons and one daughter managed to avoid being born during hunting season but two of his daughters forced him to delay his hunt until after opening day; a true testament of his love for his children.
He tried his hand at a number of trades: forest ranger, dairy farmer and welder before eventually settling down as a middle school science teacher where he shared his love of rocks and obscure knowledge of scientific names with confused adolescents. A lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he loved him some Jesus; evolving from a short-tempered multi-lingual cussing angry grizzly of a man to sentimental family history-loving teddy bear of a grandpa who tears up at Hallmark commercials and is prone to writing overly sappy Facebook testimonies riddled with spelling errors.
If you ever spoke with him he probably mentioned most of the people he is leaving behind: Mary, his wife of almost 55 years; his sisters Jackie (Jeffrey) Stevenson and Camilla (Michael) Smith. He also leaves a legacy of nuanced dad-joke humor to his six children, 23+6 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren: Commander USN Mike and Katy Hall (Kade and Sam, Grayson plus baby girl; Alex plus Liz and Audrey, Kyle and Maddie, Luke), John and Renee Hall (Abby and Sam Jafek, Hannah and Jason Rollins, Axelle, Parker, Penelope, Hugo), Stephanie Cordero (Emma, Audrey, Stanley), Jared and Amy Hall (Mya and Anthony, Ben, Jackson, Preston), Marcie and Dave Patten (Haylee, McKayla, Cameron, Michael) and Kimberlie Spring Black (Poppy, Oliver).
Also hanging in there are a few in-laws: Ray and Karen Irvine, Marilyn Irvine, and Geraldine Morreall as well as a myriad of nieces and nephews who remember hunting or fishing with ‘Uncle Joel’. He was greeted on the other side by his mom and dad, younger sister Marie, brother-in-laws Albert Morreall, Jim Irvine and Jeff Stevenson and so, so many dogs
He will be chilling at McArthur Funeral Home for a few days then we will be gathering to tell cheesy and slightly embellished stories about him on Monday, March 11, at 11 a.m.at 82 North Dixie Drive, St George, Utah. He then will be “resting his eyes” at the Tonaquint Cemetery between the old pheasant fields and the Maverik store waiting for the promised restoration of spirit and body when the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the cripple will walk and everybody will have a full head of hair.
Arrangements are under the direction of McArthur Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 160 West 700 South, St. George, 435-652-2844. Family and friends are invited to click here to sign David’s online guest book.