Marilyn Smith Hall

Marilyn Smith Hall passed away gracefully and peacefully, surrounded by her family on May 7, 2025. She was born on January 6, 1935, into a large, salt-of-the-earth farm family near Early, Iowa. She was the eighth of nine siblings born to Henry and Marie Smith. Daily life in the Smith family was surely hectic, but it provided Marilyn with her lifelong passion for caring for her loved ones as she was enveloped in the compassionate love of her family from day one! She learned how to be a great mother from her great mother, Marie, and the nurturing care of her sisters, Eileen and Anne. The Smiths were (and are!) a committed Roman Catholic family that always puts faith at the center of their family life. This led her to another passion, although it was understated and quiet, her passion for prayer. Marilyn truly believed in the power of prayer, and we are all better off because of her steadfast commitment to seeking Divine Love, direction, and support for us all!

Marilyn was also a great teacher. She graduated from Sacred Heart School in Early, Iowa, Class of 1952, and attended Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Home Economics in 1956. She began Graduate studies in teaching, where she met her future Sister-in Law, Gretchen Bonnewell Woeste. Gretchen thought Marilyn would be a good match for her brother, Stan, and introduced them! Marilyn married Hampton Stanley Hall in 1960 and settled in Kansas City where she taught High School Home Economics while Stan completed his second Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art/Interior Design at the University of Kansas. Steve and Jim were both born in Kansas City and, after Stan graduated, the family relocated to the East Coast where Mary Lou was born and ultimately settled in Richmond, Virginia.

Marilyn loved to teach her children and grandchildren how to do things to have an organized and productive life! She taught them how to be independent, how to take care of themselves, how to take care of each other, how to say their prayers, how to take care of the house, how to help get dinner on the table, and how to clean up after themselves! These turned out to be the foundational tools needed to organize time and tasks to accomplish the larger goals, like earning degrees in higher education! Marilyn’s children, Steve, Jim, and Mary Lou, have earned eight college and post graduate degrees, largely because their mother fosters a sense of inquisitiveness and a love of learning. One of Marilyn’s goals, and great joy in life, was attending her grandchildren’s college graduation ceremonies. She always encouraged her family to achieve; we all knew she was quietly cheering us on!

Marilyn believed in community. She was very involved in the PTA when the kids were little, with a focus on better nutrition in school lunch, an issue brought to light by Michelle Obama many years later! She was devoted to a national women’s organization, P.E.O., where she was a member for over fifty years. P.E.O. is a sisterhood that provides philanthropic educational opportunities for women, while enriching Sisters' lives through education, fellowship, and advocacy for women. Marilyn’s mother-in-law, Louise Hamlin, her Sister-in-Law, Gretchen Woeste, daughter, Mary Lou Hall, Daughter-in-Law, Lori Hall, and her granddaughter, Catherine, were all P.E.O. “Sisters.” She was always a dedicated parishioner wherever she lived, serving as Eucharistic Minister at Mass and participating in fellowship outside of Mass, like Senior Lunch at St. Luke Parish, Saint Luke Supper Club, and Bridge Club. Marilyn was a faithful contributor to Saint Luke’s Catholic Church, Boys Town, P.E.O., and a contributor to the Seminarians. Marilyn was always willing to show up and help out!

Marilyn loved her family and was a great source of love and support for her children, their spouses, her eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren, who called her G.G., short for Great-Grandma! She was a cheerleader for them and the rest of the family, both the Smith and Bonnewell branches of the family tree. She remained connected to her roots, always applauding the interests and accomplishments of family members near and far. She often checked on family through phone calls and Facebook on her iPad! She was always “up for a visit,” and many of her cherished nieces came and spent a few days here or there to reciprocate her love and support of them, particularly when she was struggling with health issues in recent years. Marilyn treasured these opportunities to develop a closer relationship with each of them. This past Christmas, Marilyn even set out to, and accomplished, writing individual Christmas Cards to every one of her 30 nieces and nephews! Friends and family often commented about how kind and truly interested in everyone Marilyn was! To that point, she was a huge fan of spending time with the “girls” at the Smith Cousins Retreats, and she was also always up for an adventure in the Air Stream! She went places and visited people with Mary Lou and Andy all along the East Coast when other Octogenarians would be tucked into bed!

What most will remember about Marilyn Hall was her entertaining as the quintessential Hostess. She and Stan enjoyed making an art of entertaining, setting a beautiful table, cooking beautiful meals for family and friends, forever on a quest to “Celebrate Life” as Marilyn was known to say. She also said the whole point of entertaining was to make everyone feel “at home” together! She was a natural at it, too, and always seemed to “pull it off” with such calmness and grace. In this, Marilyn was always a true partner to her husband, Stan, and they were in lockstep as parents. Stan was her biggest cheerleader and always by her side for 61 years. When Marilyn lost Stan, she never wallowed in her sadness; rather she was grateful for their life together and she knew with absolute certainty that she would see him again in Heaven.

In recent years, Marilyn has had a few significant health struggles. She was a fighter, though, and seemed to rebound when others could not have; we called her “the Energizer Bunny” and “Marvelous Marilyn” because of it, and were always grateful to see her bounce back! Not enough can be said about her positive outlook in general, but especially in the face of her health trials. She was always quick to simply accept things as they were and make the best of them, even deciding that whatever had happened, she had achieved the luckiest outcome! One time, she was in the ICU after a major abdominal surgery, and her primary objective was to remember all of the health providers' names, call them by name, ask them about their families, shifting the focus off of her discomfort while making them feel appreciated! How often does that happen in the ICU?

Marilyn will always be remembered and greatly missed.

Left to cherish her memory are her children and their spouses: Steve (Lori), Jim (Jody), and Mary Lou (Andy) Hall; her grandchildren: Alex (Marianne), James, Catherine (Ethan) Palelei, Tess, Claire, Michael, Oscar, and Camille; and her great-grandchildren: Eliot Palelei, Henry Hall, and Emmy Lou Palelei. She is also survived by her sister, Anne Reisch; sisters-in-law, Gretchen Woeste and Joyce Smith; many nieces and nephews; and lifelong friends.

Marilyn was predeceased by her parents, Henry and Marie Smith; her parents-in-law, Louise Hamlin and Hampton Hall; her sister, Eileen Martin; sisters-in-law, Pat Smith, Marvel Smith, Louella Smith, and Joan Smith; brothers, Cecil Smith, Edward Smith, Bill Smith, Joe Smith, Frank Smith, and Father Jim Smith; brothers-in-law, Bob Martin, Don Reisch, George Bonnewell, and Stan Woeste; and her beloved husband, Stan Hall.

Marilyn was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend. She will be buried at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Early, Iowa, on June 21, 2025.

Marilyn’s family invites all of you for a luncheon in Flaherty Hall immediately after Mass.