Nanene Gilbert Hall

Nan Gilbert Hall, 92, of Austin died Thursday at North Austin Medical Center after a brief illness. Born in Hornsby Bend, Nan grew up on the family farm east of Austin and moved to town to attend Austin High School and the University of Texas, from which she earned a B.A. degree in 1936. While at UT, Nan also met her future husband, I.D. “Ike” Hall, a chemical engineering student. They married in 1937 and moved to Baytown, where Nan lived until 1988, except for four years in New Jersey, where the couple lived while Ike worked in Manhattan for Exxon Corp. Ike died in 1983, and Nan returned to Austin five years later to be closer to her family. She was active in Highland Park Baptist Church, the Reuben Hornsby Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, P. E. O., and the Austin Women’s Club. Late into her long life, Nan was intensely creative and enjoyed many hobbies, including china and oil painting. She loved arguing politics, and took special relish doing so at family gatherings, where she knew that she was desperately outnumbered. Such debates often ended with Nan unleashing her disarming wit and a roomful of people collapsing in laughter. She also loved football — especially UT and the Dallas Cowboys —as well as traveling, gardening and reading. She lived long enough to enjoy six great-grandchildren. She was for generations the nucleus of a family, and by that family and all those who knew her she will be incalculably missed. Nan is survived by a son, David Hall, and daughter-in-law, Pamela Brown, both of Weslaco; a daughter and son-in-law, Nan and Herb Schwetman of Austin; grandchildren Allison Kelly Beach and husband Patrick, and Lynn Harrison and husband Kevin, all of Austin, John Schwetman and wife Krista Twu of Duluth, Minn., Katherine Rosen and husband Scott of San Francisco, Calif.,; and six great-grandchildren: Adam and Joe Beach, Marguerite and Gray Harrison, Isaac Schwetman and Jack Rosen. She also leaves behind many other family members and friends across the country. The family is especially grateful to Katherine Phillips, Beverly Houston and Debbie Pearson for their help during the past year. Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. today at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 3125 N. Lamar Blvd. Services will be at 3 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home, with burial to follow in Hornsby Cemetery off FM 969. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to Highland Park Baptist Church or Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (www.trla.org). Obituary and guestbook available online at wcfish.com