Born in Albany, Georgia on October 5, 1940, William moved within Georgia and then to Selma, Alabama where in 1958 he graduated first in his class from A. G. Parrish High School. William went on to repeat that accomplishment at Montevallo University before earning his Master of Arts in Mathematics from the University of Alabama/Tuscaloosa (1965) and a Master of Science in Biometry & Statistics from Emory University (1977).
Beginning in 1965 as an IBM contractor, William supported the staff of the Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center, performing telemetry programming for NASA’s Project Apollo. In that capacity he served as a member of the team that landed the first humans on the moon.
William was a lifelong traveler, making many pilgrimages to countless musical meccas. After his retirement he accelerated his musical travels and made trips to demonstrate for the advancement of the rights of people with disabilities, a cause for which William was a fierce advocate. He was well-known in disability circles for his incisive and forceful remarks on political, socio-economic and pastoral dimensions of the question. He championed the Americans with Disabilities Act, attending protests and conferences that helped lead to its passing in 1990.
Due to an obstetrical accident, William possessed cerebral palsy, but as lifelong classical music lover and scholar, William’s brilliant mind and beautiful heart were unencumbered by his physical limitations. He freely danced to the music of spheres. As he departed this earth on February 20, 2021, that magical realm becomes William’s home for eternity.
William’s immediate family were his adoring parents William Austin Hall, Sr and Jean Culver Hall. Though they preceded him in death, William leaves behind a household whom he loved as family, Erica Anderson and Andrés Muñoz. He is further survived by his loving godchildren Jeffrey Allen Sickel and Allison Darrow Clifton.
Mourning his loss while celebrating his coming victory over death are also a host of dear friends. Among them are fellow musicians and music lovers, theologians and scientists, and the beloved congregants and clergy of Church of Our Saviour in Virginia-Highland Atlanta.
William does not leave behind his adoration of and proclaimed love for the Holy Trinity, in Whose Names he aspired his earthy life to be lived, and through Whose grace he has been made perfect.
In lieu of flowers William’s family and friends suggest donations to
Friends of Music at Emory - http://music.emory.edu/home/about/support/friends.html
Musicians Foundation - https://www.musiciansfoundation.org/donate/
Visitation for Mr. Hall will be held on Wednesday, March 3, 2021 from 4:00PM-6:00PM at Horis A. Ward Funeral Home-Fairview Chapel, 376 Fairview Road, Stockbridge, GA 30281.
The Celebration of Life for William A. Hall, Jr. will be held on Thursday, March 4, 2021 at 10:00AM at The Church of Our Saviour, 1068 North Highland Ave., NE Atlanta, GA 30306.
The Interment will be at 11:30AM at Fairview Memorial Gardens, 164 Fairview Road, Stockbridge, GA 30281.
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