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Keith Allen Hall 1947-2008
Keith Allen Hall was born June 19th, 1947 in Devonshire Bermuda, to Charles and Griszilda Hall. Born and raised on Bermuda’s only Dairy Farm, he was the youngest of 21 children where he was given the nickname Baby Joe by his family and friends. He discovered his talent for music very early in life and at the age of 14 opened for Sammy Davis Jr. in Bermuda where he was offered a tour position. His mother however, thought Keith was too young and rejected the offer.
Growing up in Bermuda in the 50‘s, provided Keith with the perfect backdrop for the many boyhood adventures he would have growing up. It was then that Keith demonstrated another extraordinary talent of getting into trouble. His exploits, some mischievous, some funny, some childishly naive and some dangerous became legend on the island and of great consternation to his mother.
Keith received the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E) when he was a teenager for saving the life of a disabled woman during a riot, and helped calm and disperse the crowd with the help of a friend & Salvation Army Officer. In her gratitude she renamed the street she lived on to Keith Allen Hall Road and remains so to this day. Though he never spoke of this particular honour, he was always amused when he would receive photos from friends visiting Bermuda, standing below this particular road sign.
He studied and trained as a psychiatric nurse but his real love was to be music. At the age of 18, he became a scholarship student of the Julliard School of Music in New York, and appeared in many recitals as guest soloist with BBC Television and Radio. A few years later he attended Booth Memorial College in Toronto to study to become a Salvation Army Officer. Where upon graduation he ministered to the First Nations people of Northern Canada.
It was at Booth Memorial College that Keith met Miriam Ruth Fulcher in the first week of school and secretly started dating soon after. Though dating was against school policy, they nonetheless persevered, and married on May 16th, 1970 in St. Paul Minnesota. His first job as a married man was with the Manitoba School for Boys, where they lived in residence while he worked with active neurotics. (It was a perfect match!)
Their first child, Christopher was born in August of 1971 in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. Keith soon packed up the family and headed west to Vancouver in 1972, to work with the British Columbian Conservatory of Music. From there he started to tour throughout North America and worked with artists such as John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Tina Turner.
The family grew larger with the birth of their daughter, Alana in 1974. Soon after he decided to leave his promising music career for the sake of his wife and family to spend more time at home, and moved to Prince George in 1977 to find work. There they attended The First Baptist Church where his love for black gospel music was rekindled and he found a great friend in Reverend Lance Morgan. Their practical jokes and schemes quickly became legendary within the congregation and the community.
Keith decided to go to Dawson Creek and attend Northern Lights College to earn his degree in Agriculture. He started school in 1979, leaving his family in Prince George and come home to them every weekend. The whole family moved to Dawson in 1980 so they could all be together while he finished school. Money was extremely tight and one of their first places of residences was a converted garage. Here they all shared one bedroom, having to take the closet doors off to shove the kid’s bed in to make room. From the outside looking in, one would think they were hard on their luck. But from within they all recollect time as one of their best moments as a family.
Keith graduated in 1981 with his degree in Agriculture and started to save money towards his dream of having his own dairy farm. To that end, he opened Hall’s Second Hand Store. He also began working at the Nawican Friendship Center as the Executive Director, where he would stay for the next 18 years. During this time he became an advocate for the aboriginal community, at risk youth and the elderly. He achieved his goal in acquiring a piece of the Peace Country and started Devonshire Hope Dairy Farm in Sunset Prairie, named after his childhood farm in Bermuda. Unfortunately, family illness was to cut this dream short for Keith and the family. However the Hall’s left quite an impression on the surrounding community, where even today the Potter Family are probably still smiling and shaking their heads at the memories of their former neighbours.
Summer vacations became one of many sources of fond memories for the Hall family. Keith enjoyed taking the family on long road trips, where his answer to the query, “Dad are we lost?” he responded with “I know this place like the back of my head, never seen it, but I know its there… trust me!” He always enjoyed discovering new places and having adventures with his family. The childlike spirit and enthusiasm he showed to his family during these vacations made those moments priceless to all of us till this day.
From 1989 to 1992 the family started Baby Joe’s, an ice cream parlour in the Co-op Mall. It quickly became a hangout for his children’s friends and family, but he didn’t mind, as he loved participating in his children’s lives and interacting with their friends. Consequently their friends found themselves a part of an extended family that “Uncle” Keith and “Aunt” Miriam enjoyed.
Meanwhile he started Songs of the Spirit Ministries and released an album entitled Songs of the Spirit. He started touring casually with Merril Flewelling in Canada, the US, and Bermuda until 1995 when he was diagnosed with cancer. He left the Nawican in 1996 and started teaching voice on a regular basis in the community, becoming once again “Uncle” Keith to another generation. His home was continuously filled with music, song, and laughter at almost any time of the day, through the lives of his students and their families right up to his passing. During his 28 years in Dawson, Keith did numerous charity and fundraising concerts for people in need and would continue to sing and preach in many of the local churches when the need arose.
He became a proud grandfather in 1998 to Joshua Hall and again in 2002 to Emmaleigh Hall. Though his time with them was brief, he enjoyed hearing of their little adventures and how their personalities and behaviours were reminiscent of his own children at that age, and even of himself when he was young.
In 2004, his first book Uncle Manta and the Children of Pride, the story of his grandfather’s struggle with slavery while finding freedom with Christ, was published. He felt it was one of his greatest achievements. He received a certificate of Recognition for his outstanding contributions as a black pioneer of Northern British Columbia in 2004 from the Ministry of State, and received a certificate of Recognition from the College of New Caledonia for distinguished contribution as a black pioneer for Northern British Columbia as well, in 2005. He was currently working on his second book, about his childhood adventures while growing up in Bermuda when he passed away, but those he worked with on this project intend to complete it and to see it published on his behalf.
The day of his birthday (entrance) and the day of his death (exit) are really of little consequence - it is the dash in between that makes all the difference. Keith figured out how to make the dash significant. Keith is safe at home now. We'd all love to see him again. You and I can by discovering the Faith that he had and following the Lord that he loved.
Keith will most likely be remembered for his powerful voice and presence, but he was much more than that. He will always be remembered as a loving husband, a wonderful father, a patient listener and a generous friend. Keith and his song will be greatly missed by his wife Miriam, his children Christopher (Elizabeth) and Alana, and his grandchildren Joshua and Emmaleigh as well as his countless students and friends. As well as his siblings; Jimmy, Alfred, Richard (Claudine) Hall and Deanna (Wendell) Young; and to his numerous nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by parents Curtis and Grizelda Hall; sisters Constance (Hilton) Burchall, Madeline (Albert) Fray, Sheila Simmons; brothers Druel, Osmond, Charles, Roydon, Sidney, Winston, and Styles Hall.
The Hall family would like to thank Merril Flewelling, Don Pettit, Bert Goulet, Hank Bridgemen, Gary Kroonen, & Brian Cummings for not only their assistance but for their friendship. Thanks to Captain Roger and Francine Lee, Paul LaRochelle and family, and all of Keith’s students and friends who graced us with their song. As well as, Gerry & Peggy Bergeron, Marilyn and Henri Belak, The Alliance Church, Gail & Roy Theissen, the women from The New Beginnings Baptist Church, and everyone else for their phone calls, visits, cards, flowers, and expressions of sympathy - your kindness truly helped us through this difficult time.
Expressions of sympathy can be made to The Keith Hall Memorial Fund at Lake View Credit Union in Dawson Creek.
A Memorial Service was held on September 13, 2008 at the Alliance Church, Dawson Creek, British Columbia, officiated by Captain Roger and Francie Lee.
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