In the early morning hours of March 22, 2005, Rick Hall died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Fair Oaks, Calif. He was 56.

Richard Harold Hall was born May 22, 1948, in Sioux City, Iowa to Harold William and Darlene (Little) Hall. He spent most of his childhood in Blair and graduated from Blair High School in 1966.

He enlisted in the U. S. Air force in 1967, served in Viet Nam, and was honorably discharged in 1971.

In March of 1969, he married Sheila Neumann of Tucson, Ariz. The couple was married for 14 years and have remained friends.

Mr. Hall was a counselor at the Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind from 1971 to 1981. He was fluent in American Sign Language.

He attended the University of Arizona in Tucson and received his bachelor of science degree in public administration and a masters of public administration (special education) from Pacific Western University in 1979 and 1980.

He moved to California in 1981. He served as an administrative law judge for the California Department of Social Services for more than 18 years, from July 1984 to November 2002, and specialized in disability cases.

In July 1992, he married Loreen O’Hare. He loved to cook and enjoyed hosting gourmet feasts for family and friends. He catered many events professionally under the name of Memorable Thyme Catering in El Dorado County

He is survived by his wife, Loreen O’Hare; sons and daughter-in-law, Rich Hall of Auburn, and Kirk and Theresa Hall of Roseville; two grandchildren; stepson and daughter-in-law, Wayne and Angela Sweeney of Oakland; in-laws, Lu and Joe Lain of Fair Oaks; sister, Connie Hall of Seattle, Wash.; and brother and their families, in Nebraska, Chuck and Marcia Hall, George and Roxi Hall, Lyle and Pattie Hall, Lynn and Debbie Hall, and Kevin and Sandy Hall, and many nieces and nephews.

Memorials are suggested to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Sacramento Ballet, or the Sacramento Opera.

~~~Obituaries courtesy of the Nebraska Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair, Nebraska Public Library~~~