Robert Andrew Hall

Robert Andrew Hall, age 92 years, of Holland Township, NJ, died on Friday, May 28, 2021, at Morristown Medical Center, Morristown, NJ.  He was a resident of the Lyons VA Community Center, Lyons NJ, where he courageously battled a long illness.

Born on October 21, 1928 in Tacoma, WA, son of the late Robert Howard Hall and Mary Elizabeth Warner Hall, Bob was raised in Washington state.  He was a devoted husband of his wife, Virginia. They were married for 61 years before her passing in 2012.

A free thinker and hard worker from the womb, Bob’s life would be dramatically altered by others making decisions around the world when he was just entering adolescence. These decisions, coupled by Bob’s reaction to them, would have a profound effect on the man he would become, a man of integrity, compassion, strength, and love.

It was upon hearing of the attack on Pearl Harbor when Bob would feel a fierce desire to do what everyone in the country wanted to do at that time: rally and help however they could. Thirteen-year old Bob, who was already proficient in radio repair, told his parents he wanted to join the Army. They of course laughed it off, but Bob was not so easily dissuaded.  Soon after, Bob left home and headed to California.  Using the alias ‘Bob J. Anderson’ he  claimed an older age and joined the California Guard.  A short time later, on March 25, 1943, using his new alias and claiming to be older, he joined the United States Army.  He was only fourteen years old.

Young Bob excelled rapidly in boot camp at Ft. Hood, TX.  Soon he found himself in North Africa and then in Italy where his radio skills were left behind as the infantry became more important to the war effort.  He became a decorated combat veteran and was wounded during the Battle of Anzio. As he was recovering in an Army hospital, his mother back home saw him in a news reel and reported him and his true age to the military. He was subsequently sent home and, as Bob J. Anderson, he was honorably discharged on August 17, 1944 – two months shy of his sixteenthbirthday.

Once home again in Tacoma, Bob returned to Lincoln High School to graduate with the same class he left: the Class of 1946.  After high school, he attended a vocational college in Washington DC.  At eighteen, he enlisted in the United States Air Force where he served from 1947-1949.  He received another honorable discharge.

Bob cared deeply about the well-being and security of his family.  His career path began in sales and took him took on many jobs and relocations to several states, including CT and NY, before settling in NJ; first in Montclair and then Holland Township. At Dictograph Security Systems, he advanced from Fire Science Engineer to Vice-President of Engineering and it was during this time that Bob invented the first photoelectric smoke detector, one for which he earned numerous patents. This type of fire detector is still widely in use today and is credited with saving countless lives over the years.

Bob believed in maintaining a healthy body and mind; he had a strong faith in God and he displayed a strong perseverance in his beliefs.  He also believed strongly in community service and was a longtime member of the Holland Township Volunteer Fire Company, which he joined in the later years of his life. This was no easy feat, and Bob was proud to have graduated fire school when some younger trainees were not able. He was always good at keeping himself in fine physical shape.

In addition to his parents and his wife, Bob was preceded in death by his daughter, Dianne Lee Ticali and his brother, David M. Hall.

Marrying his beloved Virginia Lee (Johnston) Hall in 1951, the couple was blessed with five children.  Their surviving children include: David LeRoy Hall and his wife Marie, Christine Lee Hall, Douglas Howard Hall and his wife Cheryl, and Tamara Lee Hall.  His grandchildren include: Daniel, Kyle, Todd, and Dawn.  Their six great grandchildren are: Hailey, Tyler, Emily, Trevor, Matthew, and Abby. He is also survived by his sister Elizabeth Ohls; his son-in-law Peter Ticali; many nieces and nephews; as well as an extensive family in NY and Washington state and the many friends made throughout his travels of life.

Though another member of ‘The Greatest Generation’ has passed from this life to his eternal reward, Bob’s smile, optimism, and desire for fairness, equality, and justice in this world live on through all who knew him.

Arrangements will be announced under the care and direction of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”