IN MEMORIAM: Alvin Hall, 75; Dean,
Founder Of Cooperstown Symposium
ONEONTA – Alvin Hall, 75, who while a SUNY Oneonta dean helped establish the Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture in collaboration with the Baseball Hall of Fame, died in his sleep Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015, at home at the Plains at Parish Homestead after a lengthy illness with congestive heart and kidney failure.
He was born in Atlanta, Ga., on Oct. 3, 1940, to Icealius and Mary Frances Hall and raised in Petersburg, Va., Visalia, Calif., and Falls Church and Roanoke, Va. He married Mary Council Hall on June 12, 1965, in Roanoke.
He graduated from Randolph Macon College in Ashland, Va., and earned a Ph.D. in American history at The University of Virginia.
He began his academic career at Stratford College in Danville, Va., he continued at Wytheville (Va.) Community College, Bluefield (W.Va.) State College, Virginia State in Petersburg, The School for Lifelong Learning of the University of New Hampshire in Durham, and SUNY Oneonta.
At SUNY Oneonta, he was dean of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions when he established the Cooperstown Symposium, which marked its 28th year last June.
After Oneonta, Alvin served as dean of Arts and Sciences at Troy State University in Dothan, Ala., dean of Graduate Arts and Sciences at The Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio, and finally director of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions at East Stroudsburg (Pa.) University, where he retired in 2006.
Alvin had an irrepressible enthusiasm for life and learning and shared that enthusiasm and learning with others through his research, talks and writing. He was an active member of a church and choir in each community where he worked. In Oneonta he was a member of First United Methodist Church and sang in the Sanctuary choir.
He was an active local historian in each of his communities and, as a resident of Unadilla, he created a monthly radio review of restaurants within a 30 minute drive which featured a food review, a history of the restaurant building and an interview with the chef. He was also a charter member of the Unadilla Historical Association.
He leaves behind his devoted wife of 50 years, their two sons, James and William; James’ wife Brenda Hall and their children Emma and Nathaniel; William’s sons Finnegan and Cian and their mother Julie F. Hall. Also surviving are Alvin’s brother Charles A. Hall and his wife Katherine B. Hall, his cousins Charles and Elaine Ruxton and their family and longtime friends Reed Battin and Arthur Bradbury.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial donation may be made to the following: First United Methodist Church, 66 Chestnut St., Oneonta, NY 13820 and The Unadilla Historical Association, 131 Main St., Unadilla, NY 13849
An informal memorial gathering will be held in Traditions Dining Room at The Plains at Parish Homestead, 163 Heritage Circle, Oneonta, NY from 3:00 to 4:00 PM on Wednesday, December 9th.
Arrangements are with the Lewis, Hurley & Pietrobono Funeral Home, 51 Dietz St., Oneonta.