Dr. Leo McAloon Hall, son of Joseph and Margaret Hall and the fourth of five brothers, was born on January 28, 1929 in Denver, Colorado. He passed away peacefully on October 2, 2018, in Birmingham, Alabama. He is survived by his wife Arlene McElroy Hall, his brother William B. Hall, his sister-in-law Shirley Hall (John Hall, dec.),his cousin Mary Anne Middlebrook, his six children Mike Hall (Cathy Wright), Jeanne Hall (Karen Watts), Tim Hall, Kira Hall (Donna Goldstein), Jeff Hall (Heather Levy Hall), and Christopher Hall, thirteen grandchildren (David, Nathan, Elizabeth, Wolfe, Justin, Philip, Leo, Lucas, Sofia, Gregory, Grayson, Emerson, Keaton), three great grandchildren (Dalton, Skylar, and Josiah), and numerous nieces and nephews and their dozens of descendants.
Dr. Hall arrived in Birmingham in 1966 with his family to take a position as professor at the UAB School of Medicine (then called the University of Alabama Schools of Medicine and Dentistry). With roots in the small town of Akron, Colorado, Dr. Hall pursued a broad education that included Regis High School, Creighton University (BS), Oklahoma State University (MS), and the University of Wisconsin, Madison (PhD). In his 33 years of service to UAB, Dr. Hall was a respected scientist of biochemistry and molecular genetics, authoring over 30 journal articles and 20 patents. He invented one of UABs first profitable patents, a series of blood tests.
Dr. Hall was also a beloved and highly valued teacher, earning numerous teaching awards and inspiring several generations of medical students. His teaching is credited by many for helping turn UAB Medical School into a world-class institution: After he offered review courses in the 1960s to students taking the medical boards, the school’s performance ranking moved from the bottom 10th percentile of the country to the top 10th percentile in just one year. A strong advocate for civil rights at a time of turmoil, Dr. Hall worked to diversify the medical school, hiring the first African American lab technician at UAB and helping insure the success of minority students throughout his career.
Leo and his wife Arlene were married for 65 years and spent 50 active years in Homewood’s Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church and the Birmingham Cursillo Movement. Leo was instrumental in the drive to expand OLS school to become the first fully accredited Catholic elementary school in the southeastern United States. He enjoyed life to the fullest, whether it was playing bridge with Arlene, studying Latin, teaching kids about science, or performing with Birmingham’s Seasoned Readers. He made all 22 of his descendants feel uniquely special. As the UAB School of Medicine stated when awarding him Professor Emeritus, Dr. Hall was a warm, compassionate, highly principled, and dedicated human being. His family has written this obituary knowing that Leo, a humble man, would never boast about his own achievements. He will be dearly missed.
Visitation is Sunday, October 7, between 3:00 and 5:00 at Ridout’s Valley Chapel in Homewood. The funeral service is Monday, October 8, at 10:00 am, at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Homewood. Lunch will be served on the church grounds after the service. Donations can be made in Leo Hall’s name to the Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School technology fund,1720 Oxmoor Road, Birmingham, AL, 35209, https://donorbox.org/dr-leo-hall-memorial.
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