- Ellen F. Hall; ex-editor of Observer, civic activist
** CORRECTION / CLARIFICATION FEBRUARY 4, 2000 *****The memorial service for ELLEN F. HALL, 75, of High Service Avenue, North Providence, retired editor of The Observer, Smithfield, who died Jan. 7 at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, North Providence, will be held tomorrow at 11 a.m. in St. James Episcopal Church, 474 Fruit Hill Ave., North Providence.** END CORRECTION / CLARIFICATION *****
NORTH PROVIDENCE - Ellen F. Hall, 75, of High Service Avenue, retired editor of The Observer, Smithfield, and a lauded civic activist, died Friday at home. She was the wife of the late Alanson St. John Hall.
Born in St. Petersburg, Fla., she was the daughter of the late Ray James and Jacksonia (Flood) Fitzgibbon.
Mrs. Hall was on the staff of The Observer for more than 26 years, working in a variety of jobs and rising to the position of editor in 1977.
While at the paper, she won numerous awards, including the Rhode Island Press Association's Best Editorial of the Year in 1985. She retired in 1987.
Later she worked for several years at the North Central Chamber of Commerce.
She was a graduate of Tulane University, New Orleans, and the Rhode Island School of Design. She was a member of the advisory board of the Rhode Island Board of Regents. She was a member of the Rhode Island 350 Committee.
She served on the boards of directors of Northwest Community Nursing and Health Services, the North Central Chamber of Commerce, the North Providence Boys and Girls Club and St. Mary's Home for Children.
She was the only woman elected to the North Providence Home Rule Charter panel. She was a charter member of the League of Women Voters in North Providence and president of the Citizens Scholarship Foundation of North Providence.
She was a member of the New England Press Association and the Rhode Island Press Association. She was a charter member of the Rhode Island Press Women. She was a member of Sigma Delta Chi, Rhode Island Chapter, and the North Providence Business and Professional Women.
She was a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Burrillville Historic and Preservation Society. She was a founding member of the North Providence Antiquities Society.
She was a member of the North Providence Boosters Club, the Fruit Hill Junior Women's Club and the North Providence PTA Council. She was a Girl Scout leader.
She was named Citizen of the Year by the Woonasquatucket Valley Rotary Club. She won the Golden Bone Award from Volunteer Services to Animals. She was awarded commendations by many civic organizations.
She was a communicant of St. James Church and a member of its Altar Guild and the vestry.
She leaves three sons, Alanson St. John Hall Jr. of Ewing, N.J., and James Brayton Hall and Klebert Leighton Hall, both of Providence, and a daughter, Merrill Elizabeth Sepulveda of Yakima, Wash.
A memorial service will be held Feb. 5 at 11 a.m. in St. James Episcopal Church, Fruit Hill Avenue. Burial will be in Acotes Hill Cemetery, Chepachet. (SEE CORRECTION ABOVE)
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1924 - 2000 (75 years)
