Remembering my grandfather...

Written by: Nancy Hall

Dr. James Wilson Hall will be remembered fondly at a Celebration of Life Service on February 14, 2009 2:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church, Trenton, Tennessee. Dr. Hall passed away February 10th with his devoted wife of sixty-five years at his side. The presence of his children and grandchildren comforted him in recent days. He will be missed.

James Hall was born on June 2, 1921 in Trenton, Tennessee to James Henry Hall and Zora Dowland Hall. He was preceded in death by his father James, Marshall of Trenton and Deputy Sheriff of Gibson County and his mother Zora Dowland Hall Taylor; stepfather Ab Taylor; stepbrothers Albert Taylor and Joseph Taylor; son-in-law John Richard Arnold, Sr.; and granddaughter Melissa Arnold Nichols.

He is survived by his wife, Jo Young Hall; a daughter, Sandra Hall Arnold of Jackson; three sons, James Wilson Hall, Jr. and wife Nancy of Trenton, Dr. Richard Gene Hall and wife Debby of Oak Ridge, and Robert Barker Hall and wife Brenda of Bartlett; nine grandchildren, John Richard Arnold, Jr. of Atlanta, Georgia, James Gregory Hall of Kansas City, Missouri, William Douglas Hall of Honolulu, Hawaii, Michelle Hall McArthur and husband Kevin of Knoxville, Justin Richard Hall of Knoxville, Stacey Lynn Hall of Nashville, Stephanie Hall Taylor and husband Nick of Brighton, and Susan Leandra Hall of Bartlett. Also surviving are three great-grandchildren, John (Jake) Nichols, Andrew Hills McArthur, and Davis Ryan McArthur.

Dr. Hall was a lifelong member of First Baptist Church in Trenton where he served many years on the Building Committee and was actively involved with the Rice Adams Sunday School Class until recent health problems.

He graduated from Trenton’s Peabody High School in 1939 and attended the University of Tennessee Junior College, Martin, where he was a member of the football team. He graduated from Memphis State University and then earned his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1945 from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis. After completing his internship at Memphis’ John Gaston Hospital, Hall served in the U. S. Army Medical Corps during W. W. II. He continued his military service with the National Guard until his retirement as Colonel in 1991.

In 1948 Dr. Hall began his practice of medicine at the Trenton Clinic with Dr. J.O. Barker and Dr. Edward Barker. In 1959 he returned to the University of Tennessee Medical School where he completed a residency in anesthesiology. In 1962 Dr. Hall, Dr. Edward Barker, Dr. Eugene Crafton, and Cecil Yates founded Trenton’s Gibson General Hospital. Hall served as Chief of Staff at Gibson General and was a member of the West Tennessee Consolidated Medical Assembly, Tennessee Medical Society, American Medical Society, and American College of Anesthesiology. Among his peers he was considered a great diagnostician. In addition he was on the advisory board of Extendicare Corporation, which later became Humana Inc.

An active citizen of his hometown, Hall was a member of the Lions Club, the Masonic Lodge, and a fifty-year member of the American Legion Post 35. He was a member and chairman of the Board of Directors of Citizens State Bank, Trenton. In 1990 Dr. Hall was honored by his community as the Grand Marshall of the Trenton Teapot Festival.

Dr. Hall was very active in the University of Tennessee Alumni Association serving as Gibson County President and on the national Board of Governors from 1975 to 1984. In addition he served as the UT National Alumni President for 1978-79.

An extremely avid sports fan, especially with Peabody High School football, Dr. Hall served as team doctor for many years. He was also a long time season ticket holder for University of Tennessee football and basketball and followed the Vols all over the USA. Other hobbies included hunting, travel, reading, and genealogy. Some of his fondest memories were of duck hunting with his best friends and family.

An enduring constant in Dr. Hall’s legacy will be the many patients who remember his kindness and the many community members who remember his generosity. Doc was very proud of the number of two generation babies he was able to deliver in his long practice in Gibson County.

The family requests those wishing to make memorial donations consider the Dr. and Mrs. James Wilson Hall Scholarship Endowment Fund at the University of Tennessee supporting students interested in the medical field, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, or their charity of choice.