Valley County, IDGenWeb Project | |
Wayne Eugene “Gene” Hall, 80, died August 4, 2011, of natural causes at St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center in Boise.
Services will be conducted Thursday, August 11, 2011. Viewing will be at Thomason Funeral Home in Weiser at 10 a.m. followed by services at 11 a.m..
Gene was born Jan. 19, 1931, in a house in Cascade. There were no hospitals at the time.
His parents, Frank and Helen Lucille Wilson Hall, ranched and farmed in Valley County and had four children: a daughter Frances, Gene, Butch, and Ron.
Gene participated in sports and graduated from Cascade High School in 1949 then attended Boise Junior College. He served his country in the Air Force and was honorably discharged in 1952.
Gene married Jeanie Evans from Cascade in 1952, and they started their family. Mike was born in 1953, Pat in 1954, and Billy in 1961.
Throughout Gene’s colorful life, he had a passion for construction and operating heavy equipment. He started working for Eagle Construction Company of Boise and became construction superintendent.
He worked for Bassford Livestock Company of Ontario, Ore., then became construction superintendent for Leno and Malone Construction of Filer.
From 1963 to 1966 Gene owned and operated the Texaco Station in Cascade, and then he worked his way up from foreman to vice president of MacGregor Triangle Company. Gene oversaw road and bridge construction for MacGregor until the company was sold and dissolved in 1981.
The Hall family was well traveled as construction took them to a variety of states, including Nevada, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming. But Gene was always drawn back to Idaho.
The family lived in Banks, Boise, Boville, Calder, Caldwell, Cascade, Challis, Council, Eagle, Grandview, Erwin, Island Park, Lowman, McCall, McCammon, North Fork, Ririe, St. Maries, Three Rivers, and Victor. Gene knew his beloved Idaho inside and out.
In 1980, Gene entered another chapter in his life. He married Lillie Slifka of Boise, and in 1981 started working for the Ada County Highway District as superintendent of roads and bridges.
Gene was good at whatever he put his mind to, and was much respected at ACHD. He also was a great prankster, and was thus honored by the county with his own county road sign “Old Fart Lane.”
In 1995, Gene retired and focused on his other passions: fishing, boating, ranching, and golf. Gene loved his cattle, and kept busy moving them from the home place south of Boise to Cascade and Star.
When he wasn’t busy ranching, he spent priceless time packing horses into the back country to hunt and fish. He loved boating on Idaho’s rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, and enjoyed helping others catch fish as much as catching them himself. Gene loved all animals, but especially dogs. All dogs loved Gene.
In 2002, Gene and Lillie lived in Riggins while their new home was being built in Midvale overlooking the Weiser River and Middle Valley. They moved there in 2003 and spent the past eight awesome years enjoying God’s creation at its best.
Gene lived his passions to the closing of his life. Just a few days before he died, he was fishing Deadwood Reservoir, swathing hay, and leveling dirt with a cat.
Although never a religious man, Gene faithfully attended and supported Angel Camp Cowboy Church in Midvale. His relationship with Jesus was real. Was he a perfect man? No. Forgiven and loved? Yes!
Survivors include his wife Lillie Hall; children Pat and his wife Beth Hall of Hong Kong; and William “Billy” Hall of Bandon, Ore.; step-daughter Trudy and her husband Johnny Morris of Midvale; step-son Mark and his wife Annette Slifka of Council; brothers Butch and his wife Audrey Hall of Star, and Ron and his wife Michele Hall of Brown’s Point, Wash.; and sister Frances Snyder of Mesa, Ariz.
Preceding him in death were his parents, Frank and Lucille Hall, brother-in-law Doyle Snyder, and son Mike Hall. Gene has nine grandchildren, nine great- grand children and numerous nieces and nephews.
Gene was bright, ambitious, talented, kind, gruff, complex, fun, charming, exasperating, endearing, and generous to a fault.
If wealth could be measured by those who loved him, Gene was a very rich man. Till we meet again, we love you, Gene.
Memorials may be directed to Angel Camp Cowboy Church, 2147 Old Hwy., Midvale, ID 83645.
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