Dr. John Henry Hall Jr.

On September 24, 1946, John Hall was born to John and Mary Hall in Birmingham, Alabama. His parents soon relocated to Atlanta, where they would raise John and his four siblings, Valencia, Larry, Sam, and Bobbie.

Upon graduation from Turner High School, John would go on to begin what would transfer his love for science into a career-long immersion into chemistry, by obtaining his undergraduate degree from Morehouse College in 1969, with honors.

From there, he became one of the first black Ph.D. candidates to receive his doctorate in theoretical computational chemistry from Harvard University in 1974. He brought his wealth of experience and knowledge to renowned institutes such as Georgia Tech, University of Utah, Clark Atlanta University, and Ohio State University. He also discovered his love for travel during the many trips he made to China while collaborating with like-minded colleagues.

He started a family with his first wife, Cynthia, and helped continue to raise and nurture their sons with her despite the eventual end of their relationship. He married Susan Breckenridge and formed a close relationship with his stepdaughter Shanda, continuing to share his enthusiasm for cooking, travel, and cycling, before Susan’s passing in 2008. Prior to losing his most recent wife, Liz Acker, to illness in 2018, they enjoyed visiting Hilton Head and weekend getaways in the small pilot plane he often flew.

John is survived by his children, Mohammed (Mariclare), John, and Joy; his stepchildren, Shanda (Brett), Nathan, and Alex; and grandchildren Synia, Andrew, Brooke, Christopher, Taylor, Elliott, and Mariah.

A celebration of life will be planned on April 24 to honor John. However, in lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the American Cancer Society.