Josephine El Marie Hall October 21, 1916 - June 23, 2012

Josephine El Marie Hall passed away quietly of natural causes in her home in Sisters, June 23, 2012. Josephine was 95.

She is survived by a sister, Wilma Rediger of Goodfield, IL; daughters Caroyln Hall Mason of Fairfield, Ohio and Cynthia Hall Uttley of Sisters. She also has two adoring grandsons, Joshua Uttley of Sisters, and Nathan Uttley, currently of Taipei, Taiwan. She will also be missed by her two loving sons-in-law, Thomas Mason and David Uttley. She was preceded in death by parents William and Verna Schertz, brother Vern Schertz, sister Arlene Schertz Pierson, son Lawrence Edward Hall and beloved husband Charles E. Hall.

Josephine was born in Aurora, Nebraska and was raised on a nearby farm in a close-knit family. She learned the value of hard work, family, faith, and simple pleasures, which served her well through the Dust Bowl and the Depression.

While working as an LPN she met Charles E. Hall, a civil engineer, whom she married in June of 1946. They made their home in Arkansas and then Colorado before moving to the San Francisco Bay area. A longtime resident of San Carlos, California, she was an active member of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Junior Matrons, the San Mateo Fuschia Society, and volunteered for numerous other organizations.

She willingly packed up and moved to Bangladesh for a two-and-a-half-year stint with her husband and two young daughters; she did this with two months' notice and without the many conveniences we now take for granted, such as the Internet and cell phones.

In 2001, she moved to Sisters to live near her grandchildren, and found a new church home at The Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration where she was quickly surrounded by new friends who will also miss her greatly.

Josephine was a voracious reader and avid gardener. She was self-educated, a loyal friend, ever gracious and patient with others. She chose to think the best of others and put disappointments behind her. She put others before herself until the very end. Her daughters have been blessed by her loving example as wife, mother and friend. We will miss her deeply.

A memorial service to celebrate her life will be held at The Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration, Sisters, on Friday, June 29 at 2 p.m.

Remembrances may be made to American Cancer Society and American Diabetes Association; Josephine chose these two organizations to honor a beloved friend and a daughter.