David W. Hall

Date of Death: October 7, 2015
Date of Birth: February 26, 1937
BRUNSWICK - David W. Hall, age 78, died Wednesday night, Oct. 7, 2015 from complications of Parkinson's Disease. He was born in Damariscotta, ME, on Feb. 26, 1937, son of Reverends Carl Franklin and Gretchen Hayes Hall. He leaves his wife, Nancy, of Brunswick; his daughter, Alison, of Brattleboro, VT; his son, Jonathan, and his wife, Kathy, and their daughters, Katelyn and Grace, of Seattle, WA; his sister, Elizabeth, and her husband, Damon Harmon of Cumberland, ME and his brother, Douglas Hall of Mansfield CT.
His formative years, ages 4 to 9, during WW II, were spent on Swan's Island off Mt. Desert where his father was minister for the Maine Seacoast Mission. After several family moves, the family settled in Norfolk MA. He graduated from Walpole High School and from Bates College where he received a B.S. in physics. While living in Norfolk, David was well known for an extensive paper route which he covered by bicycle. David was drafted and worked at Army Chemical Center in Maryland shortly after college and later worked for a few years as a social worker for the State of Maine.
He was active in First Parish Church, United Church of Christ, in Brunswick for several years as a deacon, a member of the choir and a leader of young people's groups. David continued his worship as a Quaker with Mid Coast Friends Meeting in Damariscotta and then Brunswick Friends Meeting.
David loved travel and he spent his entire life involved in outdoor activities. He led many trips for the Appalachian Mountain Club, both mountain climbing, long-distance canoe trips and exploring coastal islands. He met his wife, Nancy, on a trip and they married in 1969. They moved to an old, tidewater farm in West Bath where their two children grew up and where he built and ran a banquet hall, Dam Cove Lodge.
David wrote and published several travel booklets about Maine and a book of stories about his childhood on Swan's Island. He sang baritone with The Brunswick Chamber Singers and performed in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas with the Brunswick Choral Society. David was active in Common Cause, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, the West Bath Fire Department, in many legislative hearings and workshops in Augusta, in working to ensure the safe closing of the Maine Yankee Nuclear Power plant, and in the Quaker organization - Friends Committee on Maine Public Policy.
A celebration of his life will be held at some time in the future. Donations may be made in his memory to The Island Institute (islandinstitute.org), P.O. Box 648, Rockland, ME, 04841 or to KELT, Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (kennebecestuary.org) at PO Box 1128 Bath Maine, 04530.