Mabel Hall

Mabel Hall lived a long and full life. From her humble beginnings in Prairieville, Michigan, she worked hard to earn an education, raise her family and enjoy the fruits of a good life. Mabel was a woman strong in character who lived her life as an example of a caring mother and devoted grandmother.

The turn of the century decade, from 1900 to 1909, was one of transition and progress. The industrial age was in full swing and mass production made prices fall to all time lows. Henry Ford provided the first affordable car and the Sunday drive became a national pastime. In the small farming community of Prairieville, Michigan, life for Fred and Maude (Witmont) Hughes was also in transition. On July 9, 1908, they welcomed the birth of their daughter, Mabel, at home on their family farm. She was the second oldest of the four Hughes girls.

Mabel spent her growing up years in the Delton and Hastings area, where her father was a respected lawyer and president of Delton State Bank while her mother stayed home caring for the needs of the family. Fred ran the Hughes home with a firm hand and life on the farm meant a lot of hard work, and Mabel and her sisters soon learned to balance fun with chores. The family later moved from the farm to Delton, where Mabel attended the area schools and graduated from Hastings High School.

A few years after graduating, Mabel met and married the love of her life, Willard Hall, on September 23, 1929, at the courthouse in Hastings. The couple spent the next 63 years together, raising two children and sharing many precious moments. The family later moved to Almena, Michigan, where Willard worked as a foreman at the fish hatchery and Mabel did a variety of odd jobs. And after a good days work, the couple loved going dancing at the local dance halls. Mabel was resourceful; her austere childhood trained her to make the best of the simplest of things. In the kitchen, she was an excellent cook and baker and also did a lot of canning and pickling from their own garden. Through the years, she treated her family to many delicious feasts, especially for the holidays. The aroma of her fantastic desserts filled the house and undoubtedly brought everyone to the kitchen. Mabel was also a great seamstress, making many of her children’s and later grandchildren’s clothes, as well as outfits for Barbie.

Mabel was a true matriarch and took charge of situations. Although she was a pretty tough lady with stubborn tendencies, a trait she inherited and also passed on, Mabel always had the best interests of her family at heart. Her grandchildren and great grandchildren were a great joy to Mabel. They seemed to bring out a softer, more mellow side of her heart. She truly enjoyed her role as grandmother and loved every moment she could spend with them. She often showed her love by sending cards to her loved ones, never forgetting anyone’s birthday or special occasion.

When not busy caring for her family, Mabel had many hobbies to keep her busy. A real bargain hunter, she never missed a garage sale and was up early in order to be the first to scope them out. Mabel found many great treasures for her grandchildren through the years and always brought them home a little trinket from her day of scavenging. She also attended auctions, buying things to take home and sell at her sale for twice as much. As an avid collector, Mabel was always on the look out during her bargain hunting for dolls, antiques, saucer and teacups and little dinner bells to add to her vast collections. In her leisure time, Mabel enjoyed tending to her many flower gardens, which adorned her whole yard. A good sportswoman, she loved hunting, particularly for rabbit and deer, though she never actually got one. The deer by her home were luckier than some because she didn’t hunt them, only fed them daily. In the wintertime, bundled up in about 4 layers of clothes, Mabel also loved ice fishing and was always the last one off the ice. It wasn’t just ice fishing she enjoyed – she fished whenever possible all year long.

Mabel’s appearance was always very respectable. Her outward appearance reflected an inner strength, as she was a woman with strong character. She took great pride in her dressing with nice clothes and her hair was always done. Her shirts were often adorned with pretty trimmings while her blouses were buttoned to the top with one of her much loved broaches pinned at the top. Even in her quiet moments, Mabel’s hands were always doing something. From knitting many treasured afghans for all of her grandchildren to making Christmas bulbs out of old cosmetic jewelry, which decorated her doorways during the holidays. One of her fondest memories was of her dad’s homemade wine that was very strong, but she loved it.

Although Mabel will be deeply missed, her legacy of love and dedication leaves her loved ones with cherished memories and a strong foundation to look to for comfort.

Mabel Hall of Paw Paw, MI, died on Thursday, January 27, 2005. She was preceded in death by her husband, Willard M. Hall in 1992; two sisters: Blanch Reynolds and Margaret Daniels; and by a grandson, Rodney Hall. Mabel’s family includes her two children: JoeAnn Koehn of Gobles and Willard “Bill” Hall of Kalamazoo; six grandchildren, sixteen great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren; sister, Marie Waters of Plainwell; and many nieces and nephews.

To learn more about Mabel’s life, friends may visit with her family on Saturday, January 29, from 11:00-12:00 p.m. at the Betzler & Thompson Life Story Funeral Homes, M-40 South of I-94, Paw Paw, Michigan, where a Life Story Service will be held at 12:00 noon. Interment will take place at Almena Cemetery. Please visit Mabel’s personal memory page at www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a memory, order flowers or make a memorial contribution to the Disaster Relief Fund in Asia c/o American Red Cross.