Thomas Charles Hall Jr.

Hall Jr., Thomas Charles
Died October 16, 2003, in his Irvine home with his family at his bedside. Thomas had small cell cancer. Tom had been a resident of Irvine since 1968. He and his wife Vivian have both been active in Orange County progressive causes for many years. Tom was born to Thomas Charles Hall, Sr. and Elizabeth Maguire in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 26, 1921. Tom was one of four children. His sister, Mary Batchelder, currently resides in Canyon Lake, Texas, his brother, John Hall, in Palmetto, Florida, and sister, Betty Coffey, is deceased. Tom's lifelong interest in science and teaching began as a boy at the Wagner Free Institute in Philadelphia. During World War II, he served in the Army Specialized Training Program. Tom graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Colorado and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from U.C.L.A. Tom had a long career as a scientist developing semiconductor devices. He was the founder of Microsemi Corporation in Orange County, and retired as Chief Scientist at Hughes Aircraft Corporation in El Segundo. He was an avid astronomer and a strong supporter of the U.C. Irvine Library. Tom is survived by his wife, Vivian Halpern Hall, his two children, Loma Beth Hall and her husband Mark Little of Mill Valley, CA, and Douglas Benjamin Hall and his wife Dael Kaufman of Tucson, AZ, granddaughter, Sabrina Hall Little, brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Theodor and Frances Halpern and many nieces and nephews. Contributions in Thomas Hall's honor may be made to the "Thomas C. Hall Memorial Youth Science Education Foundation."