Jan Hall, longtime teacher, dies

DOWNEY - Jan Hall, a longtime teacher and resident of Downey, passed away April 24 at the La Mirada Hills convalescent home after a massive stroke on April 19. She was surrounded by friends.She was born in Cloud, Okla., on her parent's farm and moved as a very small child to Kiowa, Kans., where she grew up. She earned her BA degree at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kans., and her MA at Cal State Los Angeles. She taught in the city of Covina, then for a Venezuela oil company for three years before settling at West Middle School in Downey for the last 24 years of her 36-year teaching career. She retired in 1984. She lived in Downey for 53 years until she moved to La Mirada in January, 2009, where she lived at the time of her death. "My passion in life was my music which I loved teaching to students in my choral groups," Hall wrote in her personal files. "I was a perfectionist, and perhaps my motto, 'I was never what I wanted to be,' explains this. My growing up in a close, quiet family greatly influenced my entire life." Hall was preceded in death by all family members but is survived by a multiplicity of friends - including former students from as many as 54 years ago. She was laid to rest at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier on Wednesday.

********** Published: April 30, 2010 - Volume 9 - Issue 2