FALMOUTH – Carol Norton Hall, 98, of Falmouth, passed away peacefully after a short illness on Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023. Born and raised in Portland, Maine, she came back to Maine for her final years after having lived in North Carolina and Virginia.
Carol graduated from Deering High School in 1943 and attended Gorham State Teachers College for two years. She met James Donald Hall of Tennessee in 1945 when he was stationed with the U.S. Navy in Portland, and they married in 1946.
Survivors include her four children: Ruth Ann (Michael) Sauter of Chapel Hill, N.C.; Don (Kim) Hall of Bush, La.; Susan (Jim) Scott of Freeport; and Cindy Hall (Jon Synder) of Park City, Utah. She was a wonderful grandmother to Sheri Morano, Ryan Sauter, David Hall, Rebecca Dean, Jonathan Scott, Katie Scott, Nathan Hall-Snyder, Michael Hall-Snyder, and six great-grandchildren.
Carol was predeceased by her parents Ruth (Knight) and Clarence Norton; her husband of 53 years Don Hall; and her sister Virginia Norton Beach.
Her life was filled with music and the joy of curiosity. She played cello with both the Portland Symphony and the Norfolk (VA) Symphony. She also enjoyed playing the piano and banjo and played (by ear) for many sing-alongs, one as recently as three months ago. Her curiosity was exemplified by her love of birds, trees, flowers, and all things in the natural world.
Life was at its best for her when she was near the water, whether Casco Bay or Panther Pond in Raymond, where she spent 90 summers, or the Great Wicomico River on Virginia’s Northern Neck. She successfully inculcated a love of Maine in her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Carol remained active until her death doing daily crosswords and cryptoquips, playing Scrabble with anyone willing to challenge her, and Authors with her great-grandchildren.
She will be interred in the family plot at Pine Grove Cemetery in Falmouth.
Contributions in her memory may be made to the Loon Echo Land Trust (www.lelt.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving Maine’s land and natural resources (8 Depot St, Ste 4,
Bridgton, ME 04009).
Send questions/comments to the editors.