Sister Margaret Hall, OSF, 1933-2020

Sister Margaret Hall, (formerly Sister M. Brendan), died at Rosary Care Center on November 25, 2020.  The daughter of John and Angela Hall entered the convent from Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish in Detroit, Michigan in 1947. She made her first profession of vows in 1952 and her final vows in 1955.  Becoming a Sister seemed a natural choice for Sister Margaret who came from a family where her sister, Marilyn, also joined the Order, and she had a brother, an uncle and a cousin who were priests and a second cousin who is an archbishop.

Sister Margaret brought many natural gifts to the Sylvania Franciscans.  In an article written about her a few years ago, the writer noted that she drew from both the left brain and the right brain as she shared organizational and math skills and her artistic abilities during her 68 years of ministry with the People of God.  She had a B.A. and M.A.T.M. from the University of Detroit which she put to good use teaching high school math for 24 years.  She taught for a total of 32 years in schools in Michigan, Ohio, and Minnesota.

For the next several years, Sister Margaret used a variety of her gifts as the Director of the first Computer Lab at Lourdes College; she organized and ran the Food Service Department at Rosary Hall, the retirement home for the Sisters; she also served as Director of Campus Services for the Sisters.  She fulfilled her dream to work more directly with the poor when she became Director of the Texas County Food Pantry in Houston, Missouri.  As well as feeding the hungry, she did some evangelization and ecumenical work in the community and became known as the “Catholic Methodist” who came to quilting class at the Methodist Church.  She was also instrumental in establishing Loretto House in Houston, a special place where women had an opportunity for personal growth and development spiritually, socially and culturally.

Among her many talents, Sister Margaret was fond of mentioning that she coached high school girls’ track and basketball without ever having played these sports herself.  When she returned from her work among the poor in Missouri, she worked in the Gift Shop in Sylvania and later moved on to working in Alverno Studio where she assisted Sister Jane Mary with some of her large murals and began creating some ceramic pieces of her own design.  Her signature piece, the FROG, (Forever Rely on God), can be seen even in some of the murals as well as on individual pieces sold in All Good Things gift shop.

Sister Margaret will be missed by her Sisters in community, the residents and staff at Rosary Care Center, and her dear family members and friends. All who knew her will remember her as a woman of great talents and even more as a woman of compassion who felt in the end that her heart was full of gratitude and love for all the blessings God had lavished upon her.

Due to the coronavirus precautions, services will be private for the Sisters only.  Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of St. Francis, Sylvania, Ohio.