Adele Hall Dead: Kansas Mourns Loss of a “First Lady”
Kansas City lost a caring civic leader, philanthropist, and adviser as Adele Hall, 81, passed away in her home in Hawaii.
Hall had just shared a meal with her husband, chairman of Hallmark Cards Donald Joyce Hall, and had been attending to her work when she reported to have felt lightheaded and collapsed reports Lawrence Journal-World.
According to KMBC, Hall had been at the helm of making Kansas City one of the best places to live in. She had served as the president of the Heart of America United Way, and led the boards of organizations including the Points of Light Foundation, American Academy of Pediatrics, Partnership of Children, and the Menninger Foundation.
She had also been known for her work in the Children's Mercy, Partnership for Children and Children's TLC, and Youth Volunteer Corps of America, where she served as vice-chairman.
But what earned her the respect of the community, as well as the endeared title of "first lady of Kansas City," were her endeavors in helping and serving people. Hall had volunteered on health and education organizations, ensuring that their causes were always met and fund-raising events were held.
Hall had always been an active part of any community she found herself with. Even in her hometown of Nebraska, she was a cheerleader and a member of the scholastic honorary fraternity Phi Beta Kappa, reports The Kansas City Star. She was later on awarded with an honorary doctor of humane letters.
Hall's legacy continues to live on, and her husband, two sons, grandchildren, as well as the many people whom she has helped, served, and touched live as testaments to this.
A loving mother and a loving leader, this is how Kansas Citians would remember Hall. She tended to her family, but sometimes, she also viewed her community to be a family.
In an interview with The Kansas City Star, Hall's longtime friend and former CEO of Hallmark Irv Hockaday said, "She was like a magnetic sun, a human sun, whose constant warmth and magnetism just had a pull. And people gravitated to her."