Obituary of William Pudney Hall

Born in Montclair, New Jersey in 1923, William Pudney Hall died peacefully in the loving arms of his family on December 6, 2020 at the age of 97. Bill grew up in Montclair and served three years during World War II as a Technical Sergeant in the 108th Medical Battalion of the Army’s 33rd Infantry Division. Upon his return, he earned his undergraduate and MBA degrees at Harvard University. While at college he was varsity manager of the 1946 football team and later a founder of the Crimson Key Society. Bill married the love of his life, Ann Elizabeth Emerson in East Liverpool, Ohio on June 23rd, 1949. They eventually settled in Winnetka, Illinois where they raised their 5 children. During his consulting career, Bill spent 23 years at A.T. Kearney, retiring as a Vice President in 1980. Prior to that he was a partner at Duff, Anderson and Clark. He later became an Executive Vice President at Duff and Phelps until his retirement in 1985. In his retirement years, as a volunteer, Bill was heavily involved with the growth of Executive Service Corps of Chicago (ESC). He served for many years on the Board, developing and teaching consulting training courses. His favorite course that he taught at ESC was on Non-profit Board Development. As a project manager he also helped to run fundraising campaigns for ESC. He was known to say: “of all the contributions I made during my life, none was as rewarding as my ESC experience.” A student of governance, Bill served on many corporate and a dozen non-profit boards, frequently in leadership positions. He was quite proud of his decades of service and contributions to St. Leonard’s House, an Episcopal charity serving men and women returning to the community following incarceration. Bill enjoyed spending summers in his Wisconsin Home, at the Big Sand Lake Club, where he was a past President of the Board. His greatest pleasure came from fly fishing for brook trout in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He also fished for other species in Western United States, Canada, and foreign locales. His book, Fly Fishing Addiction, testifies to his love of the sport. He was a golfer, tennis player, and skier of “average skills” (his words not ours). For all who loved him, what Bill Hall was most known for was his remarkable spirit; his boisterous enthusiasm and optimism, his love of words, song, and story-telling, an insatiable appetite for learning, his goodness, kindness and generosity, his knack for giving reassurance and support when others needed it most, his ability to adapt and overcome challenges, his profound dedication to family and the institution of marriage, and for being a wonderful role-model for how to age and die with dignity and grace. Bill was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 60 years, Ann, and his first-born son, Steve; his parents Charlotte and Sam, and sisters Holly and Janet. Bill is survived by his four children, Chris (Jill), Jon (Carole), David (Susie), Betsy (Doug), his daughter in-law, Lee, 11 grandchildren (and their partners) and 16 great grandchildren. His brother Sam lives in Florida. In lieu of flowers, memorials made St Leonard Ministries in Chicago, 2100 W Warren Blvd, Chicago, IL 60612