Mary Ann Hall

MILFORD - Mary Ann Hall of Milford, passed away on July 30, 2014 at Country Rest Home in Greenwood. Mary Ann was born on January 20, 1943 in Milford, to the late Howard and Frances Killen. She was the eldest of two children. She was a graduate of Milford High School and wed high school sweetheart Donald Hall in 1963. They shared a long and happy 51 year marriage during which three children were born: Betsy, Alex, and Abby. As a young woman, Mary Ann graduated from the Pierce School of Business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and later received an Associate's Degree in Human Services from Delaware Technical & Community College in Georgetown, and a Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education from Thomas Edison State College, N.J. Mary Ann was renowned for her technical skills and accuracy. In addition to formal employment, and before the advent of personal computers, Mary Ann did freelance typing and prepared numerous Ph.D. dissertations for local educators. She worked in the Delaware State Auditor's Office, Milford Memorial Hospital, and Milford School District where she administered the Title I Migrant Program. In 1978, motivated by her experience in locating childcare after the birth of her 3rd child, Mary Ann established The Learning Center- "TLC" childcare center. TLC originally operated within the Sunday School rooms at Calvary United Methodist Church but later moved to its current location on Rehoboth Boulevard in Milford. During its 36 years of operation, TLC has served thousands of local families and children and Mary Ann felt particularly strongly about instilling all children's learning experience with an exposure to God and faith. The Learning Center was the first privately owned Sussex County childcare organization to achieve formal accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Mary Ann had numerous hobbies and interests and was notorious for having multiple projects in progress simultaneously. An accomplished seamstress, Mary Ann could sew, knit, crochet, crewel, and smock, and also arranged flowers, painted ceramics, made pottery, cooked, baked, and played piano. She was a crossword puzzle enthusiast and a dog lover. She and Donald enjoyed traveling to east coast Florida, Hilton Head, taking cruises, and being with family and friends. She was a member of Calvary United Methodist Church and later the First Presbyterian Church, both in Milford. Mary Ann is survived by her husband, Donald; her three children, Betsy Wheeler and her husband Earl, and their three children Callie, Rex, and Wyatt (Corolla, N.C.), Alex Hall and his wife Tami and their children Jennifer Sapienza, Steve Swain, Julianna Thomas (Milton), and Abby Johnston and her husband Kurt (Winston, N.C.); her sister, Carolyn Custer and her husband Ed (W.Va.); and her sister-in-law, Patricia Deputy (Milford). A memorial service will be 12 p.m., Tuesday, August 5, 2014 at Calvary U.M. Church, 301 S. E. Front Street, Milford, where friends may call after 11 a.m. Burial will be private Contributions to support the continued investment in the Learning Center, Mary Ann's passion, can be made to The Learning Center, 258 N. Rehoboth Boulevard, Milford, DE 19963. The family would like to express its gratitude to the staff of the Country Rest Home where Mary Ann was a resident for the last two years of her life. Arrangements handled by Berry-Short Funeral Home, Milford.