William Long Hale

1951 - 2021

William Long Hale

1951-2021

William Long Hale passed away on February 3, 2021, three years after he had been diagnosed with throat cancer. An idealist and an optimist, he met this final illness with the same extraordinary fortitude and strength with which he lived his life.

Born September 29, 1951 in Cold Spring-on-Hudson, NY, Bill grew up in Wallingford, CT, where his family settled in 1954. Bill attended public schools and distinguished himself as a top student, academically and athletically. Upon completing 8th grade, Bill and his family relocated to Toms River, NJ in June of 1965. That fall, Bill began his freshman year at The Hill School, in Pottstown, PA, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, William H. Long, Jr.

At Hill (1965-69) Bill shone as a star scholar and athlete. Winner of seven varsity letters, he was co-captain of the lacrosse team and a key contributor to the wrestling and football teams. His excellence in lacrosse as a center midfielder and faceoff specialist was recognized by being named to the All-Delaware Valley Team after his junior year season. As a wrestler, Bill was a skilled light-heavyweight with a record of clinching key victories over opponents who held significant weight advantages against him. A memorable example of Bill's wrestling prowess was his thrilling come-from-behind victory in a dual meet against Mercersburg Academy in front of a standing-room-only spectator gallery. Bill's opponent outweighed him by 100 pounds and quickly took the lead. After being down 0-5 on points and narrowly escaping being pinned, Bill battled back to defy the odds and win by a score of 10-7 in what The Hill News described as the "most exciting match of the season." His remarkable win in the fabled tradition of "David vs. Goliath" enabled The Hill to claim a 20-17 team victory for which Bill received "Player of the Week" accolades from The Hill News.

On the football field, Bill was exceptional as an offensive fullback and a defensive cornerback. Possessing tremendous strength and stamina, he played both ways and rarely missed a single down. He was honored for his significant accomplishments on the gridiron by being selected as the recipient of the Lawrence R. Durrell '34 (MVP) Football Award. Inducted into both The Hill School Athletic Association and The Hill School chapter of the Cum Laude Society, Bill also served in the student government as a two-term Committeeman and was a member of the English and Classical Music clubs. In the annual yearbook elections, Bill was honored by his classmates who selected him as one of three members of The Class of 1969 whom they considered to have "Done the Most for Hill."

During high school, Bill was a founding member of and bass guitarist for Solomon, a rock band that recorded original material on the Capitol Records label. The band included fellow Hill students and lifelong friends Andy Wallin, Class of '69 (songwriter, arranger, piano & vocals); Dave Tipson, Class of '69 (vocals, flute and guitar); and Bob Lounsbury, class of '70 (drums, percussion); along with two other members outside the student body.

A recipient of the UNC Chapel Hill Morehead Scholarship, Bill chose instead to attend Harvard University, where he majored in Political Philosophy and pursued creative writing, completing his B.A. in 1975. He was a member of the Hasty Pudding Club, the Harvard Signet Society, the A.D. Club, and served on the Business Board of The Harvard Lampoon. He wrestled and played lacrosse during his freshman year, while continuing to record music with his rock band and developing his enthusiasm for The Grateful Dead. He took a job as a security guard at Harvard's Fogg Museum in order to be able to study more thoroughly the works of art on display.

During one of his summer breaks from Harvard, Bill had an internship in Washington D.C. working as a Page for U.S. Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska. Bill spent other summers in Alaska visiting his father, John Hale, who by 1967 had become a permanent Alaskan resident. Bill's connection to Alaska began as a two-year-old when his father was discharged from active duty in the US Navy at the end of the Korean Conflict. The family (mother, father, Bill and infant brother John) drove from Coronado, California, up the Alcan Highway, to Nancy Lake, Willow, Alaska, the site of the homestead cabin that John built in 1948.

Bill took the opportunity in the summer of 1974 to climb Denali (Mt. McKinley) with the legendary mountaineer the late Ray Genet. Inspired while at the summit, Bill captured the breathtaking beauty and mood above the clouds with a series of original photographs and poems, a segment of which appeared in The Harvard Crimson. During a second Denali climb that Bill made in 1976, a member of the expedition perished from a heart attack and was medevacked off the mountain. Bill ended up carrying the fallen climber's backpack and gear (as well as his own) for the remainder of the climb.

In Alaska, Bill began the entrepreneurial work that would lead him to enter Harvard Business School in 1976. These projects included founding an aerial global satellite positioning geographical survey company, for which he earned his pilot's license, and, with his father, conceptualizing and founding KABN Valley Radio which broadcast from Big Lake, Alaska. Bill took time off from earning his B.A. to launch KABN and worked for the radio station before entering graduate school. He was actively involved in the capital raising, licensing, land acquisition, architectural design, permitting and construction of the radio station building and broadcast tower, as well as providing operational input. KABN was critically acclaimed for its award-winning eclectic, progressive programming format. As a part-time DJ, Bill kept the attention of the community, who would wonder program to program, WWWD? (What will Will do?)

During his college years, Bill's creativity and productivity were challenged by the psychological disorder that sadly came to dominate his life. After completing one year at Harvard Business School, he devoted the rest of his life to the pursuit of independent creative projects. These projects, which were grounded in his belief that social reforms and spiritual practices could make the world a better place, were fueled by Bill's unstinting idealism and deep sense of ethics. Even as his mental illness led to increasing instability, Bill's creative projects gave him a life-sustaining sense of purpose. He spent most of his adult life in Washington D.C. with trips made to Berkeley, CA and Willow, AK. After he was diagnosed with throat cancer, he returned to Cambridge, MA, accompanied by his faithful Afghan Hound, Mekkah, to receive the best of medical care available from Dana Farber, Brigham, and Mass General hospitals.

Bill was predeceased by his parents, John Heald Hale (Anchorage, AK) and Dorothy Long Hale (Toms River, NJ). He is survived by his father's second wife, Nan Elliot Hale (Anchorage, AK); his brother and sister-in-law, John Nash Hale and Suzan DeLambily Hale (Toms River, NJ); and his sister and brother-in-law, Dr. Dorothy J. Hale and Dr. Jeffrey Knapp (Berkeley, CA). Bill was a proud uncle to his niece Maddie; his nephew Nash, niece-in-law Adrienne, and their son Nash2; his niece Morgan, nephew-in-law Mike, and their son Ridge.

Donations in memory of William Long Hale may be made to the American Cancer Society or charity of your choice.

Eagles soar on glaciers' gusts of gold

On mists up where the mountain air entangles sun and cold.

And slowly city voices, they don't seem to mean a thing

Being neither here nor there, Glenn Highway.

("Glenn Highway," lyrics and music by William Long Hale)

Assalamu alaikum, Brother Bill.