Dr. John A. Hall

Dr. John A. Hall of Longview was born in Santa Rita, Grant County, New Mexico on March 9, 1932. He was the fifth child and fourth son of John Hollis Hall and Thelma "Peggy" O'Neal Hall. John and his wife Harriet (Hamilton) Hall had two children, John Matthew Hall of Dallas and Laura Anne Hall Quinalty of Marietta, Georgia, and two grandchildren, Elias Hall Quinalty and Calvin Henry Quinalty. Preceding him in death were his parents, his sister Mary Williams Kasting, his brothers Tom A. Hall and William G. Hall, and his beloved grandmother Flora Pauline O'Neal. Surviving him are brother Hollis O'Neal Hall of Dallas and sister Peggy Charmain Ewest of Beaumont, his wife Harriet, his son Matt, his daughter Laura, and his grandsons Elias and Calvin. Also surviving is son-in-law, Keats Quinalty, and sisters-in-laws, Kathryn Hall and Marjorie Hall, both of Beaumont. John expired on April 30, 2012 in Longview, Texas. A memorial service will be conducted at Greggton United Methodist Church, 1101 PineTree Road, Longview, Texas on Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at 2 p.m. Interment will be a military cremation cemetery service conducted on Friday, May 4, 2012 at 11 a.m. in the Central Texas Veterans Cemetery, Killen, Texas. John was active in the Methodist church and served as both a Sunday school teacher and lay officer at Saint Luke's in Kilgore, Texas, and for over 40 years at the Greggton United Methodist Church in Longview, Texas. John served in the army as a solider and an officer before and during the Korean War. He attained the enlisted rank of Sergeant First Class, was a Platoon Sergeant, and earned a commission as a Second Lieutenant. He was posted to Fort Benning, Georgia, where his duty assignments included being a tactical officer and a company commander in the Officer Candidate Regiment in the United States Army Infantry School at Fort Benning. He left active service as a First Lieutenant in the Infantry and enrolled in Lamar University in 1953. Upon graduation from Lamar in 1956 with a degree in Geology, he worked in the oil exploration field in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Thereafter, he began teaching secondary school sciences in the Vidor Texas School District. He was a school counselor in Jasper Schools until 1965 when he went to work for the Texas Education Agency at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. John met and married Harriet in Jasper and they celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary April 16, 2012. While working for the Texas Education Agency, he earned a Master of Education degree from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1965, and took at year's leave of absence and worked on his PhD, which he received in 1971 from East Texas State University (Texas A&M-Commerce). He was employed at the Region 7 Education Service Center in Kilgore in 1970, and he retired from the Education Service Center in 1995 as Associate Director. John was a Boy Scout volunteer for over 30 years, and was active both at the local level (Troop 618, sponsored by Greggton United Methodist Church) and in the East Texas Area Council. He loved Scouting and was a very active Scout Leader. He received several awards in recognition of his contribution to Scouting. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Greggton United Methodist Church Building Fund.