Don Hall

My grandfather, Don Hall, died Wednesday morning in Phoenix. He was 89.

Unlike a lot of Americans, I was blessed to grow up with my grandfather around an awful lot when I was a kid. He was a tall, gregarious guy. He attended Jamestown College, in Jamestown ND, during the height of the dust bowl, putting himself through school working a variety of odd summer jobs, even a WPA project. He was a hall of famer at JC - some of his records still stand, 67 years later.

He taught high school in many little towns in the Dakotas for probably fifteen years or so - even coached the last undefeated season, including post-season, in the history of North Dakota High School basketball (Grand Forks Central, 1940). After that, as I was giggly-delighted to tell my friends in high school, "grandpa sold drugs" - as a representative for Merck, Sharp and Dohm, of course. As a travelling salesman, it seemed he was always passing through town. I went on a trip with him once, and it felt like everyone in all the little towns knew him and said "hi".

I last saw him at my mother's house, nearly six years ago - he and my grandmother Pat moved to Phoenix in the seventies, after they both retired. Age was catching up with him, but even up to my last phone call with him he never sounded any different than he did in my earliest memories of him.

Back to more political talk on Monday. Hope you all have a great weekend.