The Reverend Dr. John David Hall, 88, died Sunday, August 2, 2020, in Huntsville Hospital from complications following an infection. His death was preceded by several weeks of care in the hospital and rehab facilities. Prior to his final illness, he had been tended at home in Huntsville by his wife, Carol Love Hall.
John David was a man passionately devoted to higher education, mental health, his ministry, and occasional foolishness.
He was born March 22, 1932, in Birmingham, AL, the third of three surviving children born to Jewell Camp Hall of Talladega and Mary Lee Benson Hall of Scottsboro. John David grew up in Leeds, AL, but spent summers in Jackson County to be near his maternal grandparents, Elma Kirby Benson and State Senator John Benson. He and his family moved permanently to Scottsboro in the mid-1940’s.
John David was a 1948 graduate of Jackson County High School. During his summers in Scottsboro, he served as a senate page, accompanying his grandfather Benson to legislative sessions in Montgomery. He entered college at Washington and Lee at age sixteen. After attending several colleges, he graduated from the University of Alabama, where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity.
He completed his master’s and doctoral degrees in educational psychology from Peabody College (now merged with Vanderbilt University). He received his theological training in the Cumberland Presbyterian faith at Bethel College. He did post-graduate work at Harvard.
After 24 years in various pastorates and as a professor and administrator at Bethel College in McKenzie, TN, he returned to Scottsboro in 1972 as the founder and executive director of the Marshall-Jackson Mental Health Center. Later in his career, he maintained private practices in clinical and consulting psychology in Scottsboro and Huntsville.
As an ordained minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, John David held pastorates in Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi. On several occasions, he served as Interim Pastor at the Scottsboro, Goose Pond, and Gurley Cumberland Presbyterian Churches. He also served as Interim Pastor at the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Huntsville. In 1992-1993, he served as Moderator of the Cumberland Presbyterian General Assembly. He was an active member of the Scottsboro Rotary Club and served at least one term as president.
In 1958, John David married Peggy Jean Evans of Chesterfield, TN, a teacher of physical education and dance. Peggy died from cancer after an extended illness in 2005. She and John David had one child, Bradley David Hall, a Presbyterian minister and hospice counselor who lives in Huntsville. Brad is married to Debbie Miller of Huntsville.
John David married Carol Ann Love in 2006. They resided in Huntsville, Alabama, where he frequently substituted in the pulpits at Big Cove, Huntsville, Gurley, and Stevenson. Carol retired from a 33-year career in social work a little over a year after their marriage. She patiently and compassionately cared for John David at home during the time of his infirmity preceding his death.
John David was known for his quick wit and sense of humor. He maintained a wide circle of active friends with whom he enjoyed boating and travel. He was an avid reader and historian of the Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers. He respected family history and wrote down stories that would otherwise have been lost.
John David would listen intently to stories told by friends and colleagues and at the end of the discussion often declare, “Yep, that’ll preach,” and weave the story into one his sermons.
One of John David’s parishioners posted on social media: “John David was a lifelong friend of my family and an absolute rock for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at many levels, all the way from local ministry to Bethel College to moderator of the General Assembly. I will always remember his brilliant intellect and an unmatched sense of humor.”
John David was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, and his two sisters, Joan Hall Fitzgerald McKelvey and Betty Jean Hall Bradford. He is survived by his wife, Carol Love Hall; his son, Bradley David Hall; a niece, Martha Lee Fitzgerald of Alexandria, AL and her children Brantley Medders and Joanna Lee Medders Jones and children; and a nephew, David Benson Bradford of Scottsboro and his son, Dr. Will Bradford.
A small memorial service for family and close friends will be held at the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Huntsville on Thursday, August 6, 2020, at 11:00 AM, with the Rev. Richard Hughes and the Rev. Dr. Roy Hall officiating. Interment will be in Maple Hill Cemetery at a later date. A celebration of life service will be held in Huntsville when the current Covid crisis is under control. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, AL, Bethel University in McKenzie, TN, or Memphis Theological Seminary in Memphis, TN.
