GEORGE HENRY HALL

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GEORGE HENRY HALL
February 12, 1916 - October 23, 2022 (106 years old)

With peace I write that Dad passed away at home on T4 Deer Lodge. Living a long life, he quietly let go as caring people sat with him.
The last few years were challenging, dementia being one of the challenges. Once settled in his new place he found a routine. In his room he had his corner by the window to soak in the sunshine. If any of the kids came close to him to provide caretaking needs he'd tell them "scratch my back, SCRATCH MY BACK". Comparisons to a cat were frequently made. All who worked on T4 were known as the kids, even though you showed him your name tags and said your name.
He is the last sibling out of eight from his Pioneer Family that settled in the Dauphin area. His own family is small. His wife (1999) and son (2017) predeceased him. He leaves his daughter to hold the memories. He joined the Air Force in 1940 and trained to be an aircraft mechanic. He was called to be a flight engineer and flew reconnaissance off of the East Coast.
Having met his wife while working in Flin Flon, he returned to marry her in 1944 prior to his discharge. Their lives began and ended in Winnipeg. His working life was with Shell Oil Refinery. It was shift work, lots of outside work, never easy on a family, as many holidays were missed. However, we all learned very quickly to walk and talk quietly. His spiritual life was at Faith Lutheran Church. It is daunting to think how much he has seen, experienced and read from a one-room schoolhouse to a man on the moon and so much more.
He left his house in 2001 and moved to Kirchhoff Gardens. He remained independent and active until shortly before he moved one last time, at age 104. He liked someone else cooking, restaurants were good. Coffee was great and remained great. Cribbage and rummy were fun. Dark rum was enjoyed when he watched sports especially hockey, football, Canadian teams, no sound. Country drives were welcomed as he looked at the changing seasons.
Thank you, to all of you on T4 for keeping him safe, being company, for playfully tattling on him when he needed it or maybe when family needed to hear it to cheer us up. He was spicy and saucy until the end.

Crossing the Bar
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of
Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.

Donations gratefully accepted to Deer Lodge or a charity of your choice.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Oct 29, 2022