Martha Harper Hall

Martha Luvena Harper Hall died January 4, 2015 at the age of 98. She was the daughter of William S. and Winnie Eden Brooks Harper. She was born in Walters, Oklahoma and grew up in Manitou, OK. In 1939, she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Central State Teachers College in Edmond, OK.

Having taken the Civil Service exam, she was called to Washington, D.C. just days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. She joined the typing pool at the Department of State and rose to become secretary to the Geographer within the Office of the Geographer. There she met and married a staff geographer, Arthur R. Hall, in 1944. They celebrated their first anniversary in San Francisco while both were serving as staff to the U. S. delegation to the conference which organized the United Nations.

After more than two decades in the Washington area, the family moved to Harrisonburg in 1968. She became involved in numerous volunteer activities, began painting, and joined the local chapter of the American Pen Women as an artist. Late in life she did the necessary research to become a member of the DAR, a longstanding desire.

She was widowed in 1992 and is survived by daughters Esther Hall and Carol Hall and her Japanese daughter, Chieko Yamada. Special acknowledgement and gratitude to Judy Way for her years of help and caring.

There will be a memorial service at Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Saturday, January 10 at 10 A.M. Burial will be in Silver Spring, MD.