Pauline Elise Hall

It is with great sadness that the family of Mrs. Pauline Elise (de Champlain) Hall announce her passing at the age of 90. Pauline passed away at the Community Hospice House in Merrimack NH after a brief bought with colon cancer on Friday, September 20, 2024. She was surrounded by family and loved ones.

Pauline loved many things: a friendly game of cribbage, detective novels, Hallmark movies, classical music, long beach days, wildflowers, birds, working in her side yard garden, and watching beautiful sunsets, to name a few. But above all she loved family, food, and red wine. Fewer things brought her more joy than having her entire family at her home while she cooked and served Thanksgiving dinner, the sound of laughter and conversation filling the space around her. She was a begrudging baker, but loved her children so much that she continued to bake birthday cakes well into their adult lives, even after they all told her to just go buy one from the grocery store. A family meal was never complete without appetizers, the main course, dessert, and at least one bottle of red wine. She loved to go to dinner at the Lobster Boat (in Merrimack NH) and made weekly trips with her beloved husband, Paul, until his passing in 1997. She continued to go regularly with family and friends for the rest of her life. She joked that if she couldn’t enjoy food or wine at any point in her old age, that she must have been ready to go (she still loved food to the end). She kept a collection of yearly photos of all her grandchildren on her fridge (arranging them just so), along with newspaper clippings and concert programs showing off the talents of her children and grandchildren. When it came to children and grandchildren, she went to every concert, every award ceremony, every sporting event, and every production she could; she was always proud of her family’s talents and hard work. She loved to be a daughter, a sister, a cousin, an aunt, but she especially loved being Mom and Mémère.

Pauline was a lifelong learner. Pauline loved to talk about politics, especially with people who had other points of view. She visited and worked in France in 1954, taking in the culture, the music, the food, the sights, and most of all, the people. At 80 years old, she got her first smart phone and immediately took up texting her children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and friends, delighting in the pictures and messages sent to her. She was curious, always asking questions, even when she couldn’t word them eloquently. She had a delightful sense of humor and tried not to take herself too seriously, despite her penchant for worrying. Pauline was opinionated and independent, generous and thoughtful, determined and stubborn, witty and candid. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her.

Pauline was predeceased by her loving husband Paul Hall, her parents Albertine (Beaulieu) and Arthur DeChamplain, her sisters Bernadette Hamlin, Albea Milot, Theresa Leonard, and Irene Boutin. She is survived by her sister Sr. Adrienne DeChamplain of Taunton, MA, and her children Lelia Dutton and husband Tim of Merrimack, NH, Laura Dreyer and husband Tim of Warner, NH, Michael Hall and wife Rhonda of Bedford, NH, and Peter Hall of Whitehall, PA. She is also survived by her favorite people on Earth, her grandchildren Lindsay Dutton and partner Dalton Mutz, Rebekah Dreyer-Rowe and wife Katie, Nikolas Dreyer, Hannah Dutton and partner Ryan Cameron, Jacob Hall, Noelle Hall, Madelyn Hall, and Meghan Hall. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

Calling hours will be on Friday, September 27 at Rivet Funeral Home, 425 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack, NH from 4 pm to 7 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Our Lady of Mercy Church, 16 Baboosic Lake Road, Merrimack on Saturday, September 28 at 9:30 AM. Burial and reception to follow. Please send any flowers to Rivet Funeral Home & Crematorium Inc., 425 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack, New Hampshire 03054.