Adele Hall has died. The wife of the Hallmark Cards chairman and a Kansas City civic leader, she collapsed and died unexpectedly in Hawaii, reports the Boston Globe on Monday, Jan, 28. Hall, 81, had just finished breakfast with her husband of 60 years, Donald J. Hall, and ‘‘was working on email when she suddenly felt lighted-headed and collapsed.”
Adele Hall was a tireless worker for charity in Kansas City and beyond. She spread her talents and a great deal of family money over organizations from the United Negro College Fund to the American Academy of Pediatrics. She sat on the board of museums and hospitals, and she was the first woman to hold the title of Kansas Citian of the Year, and the first woman president of her local United Way. Not yet quite ready to retire, Adele Hall dies leaving work still undone.
‘‘Adele [Hall] was interested in a broad range of community needs with a special passion for the needs of children,” reports a press release from Hallmark. ‘‘She was tireless working toward those interests in any capacity needed — as visionary board chairman, energetic champion and catalyst for change, hard-working committee member, dedicated fund-raiser or hands on volunteer.”
Actually, anyone who has money can donate money to worthy causes, but it takes a special kind of person to do the hands-on volunteer work. It also takes talent and intelligence to chair boards and to champion change, and Adele Hall had all the requirements. She will be missed.
Comments