Iris Joy Hall, 95, passed away peacefully on Friday, August 31, 2018, in Saint Louis, Missouri. She was born March 9, 1923, in South Bend, Indiana to John C. Krieg and Joy (ne Sedam) Krieg.
One pastime from early in her life serves as a metaphor for how she lived out the beautiful balance of her life. Her father was a Methodist pastor serving a number of churches in northern Indiana over the years. Iris had two sisters, Ardis, one year older and Waneta, one year younger. They all exhibited musical talent and frequently sang together as a trio, as the Singing Krieg Sisters, sometimes accompanied by their father on piano. Iris sang Alto parts and that pretty much sums up how she lived her life. She never wanted to be in the lead, but always tried to bring harmony in all her efforts. She didn’t want the reins of control, but preferred to come alongside her spouse, family, and friends in a supporting role to help them become their very best.
She married Jay Ernest Hall, the son of a local farmer, Landess, Indiana, while he was serving in the U.S Navy during WWII (September 12, 1943.) They met at the Hanfield Methodist Church where her father was pastor. They celebrated nearly 59 years of marriage before Jay’s death on July 27, 2002.
Alongside her husband, they built a business on the northeast side of Indianapolis for eighteen years, raising a family at the same time. Sons Gary (Peggy) of Indianapolis, and Terry (Dee) of Altamonte Springs, FL, and a daughter Marsha Morbelli (Tom) of Saint Louis, MO were born. She was active in the business, as needed, and served doing church work and raising an active family. Boating, camping, and vacations with extended family were the norm, with most of the planning and details falling on her, which she loved.
In 1972 they moved to “suburban” Van Buren, Indiana, to begin a thirty-year farming career. She may have been a little skeptical at first but dove right in to the harvest and planting cycles, raising a garden, helping in the fields, as needed, and continuing the tradition of Grandma Hall’s Pickles. She continued helping at the same Hanfield Church where she and Jay first met. They took up the pastime of square dancing, added winters in Sebring, Florida, made many new friends in Florida, and “the Farm” became a mecca of treasured memories for the grandchildren that were beginning to come along.
On her own for the first time in her life, she decided to sell the farm after Jay’s passing. In her early eighties, she chose plans, colors, furniture and decor and oversaw the building of a new house on Rainbow Lake in Geneva, Indiana, next door to her sister Ardis and husband Lloyd Perry. She also shared the lake with niece Elaine Monroe and great niece Camarra Yates and her husband, Mike. She dearly loved the last 15 years of her life watching the lake, the birds and the flowers around her house. Even then, she continued church work and planning gatherings at “the Lake House” for grandchildren and the families they were now starting.
Also preceding her in death were a brother, Jack Krieg and her sister Waneta Mahan. Her sister Ardis Perry passed away September 4, 2018.
In addition to her children, Iris is survived by five grandchildren: Jeff Hall (Linn), Kristen Joy Hall Dennis (Chris), Jeremy Nevil (Tiffany), Justin Nevil (Emily Fallwell), and Kelly Nevil, and Fourteen great grandchildren: Cathrine, Elisabeth Iris, John, Sophie, and James Hall; Abigail Joy, William, and Olivia Dennis; Cooper, Chase and Cecilia Nevil; Cora and Dean Nevil; and Ashlynn Nevil.
There will be a Celebration of Life Service at Downing & Glancy Funeral Home, 100 Washington St, Geneva, IN 46740, 12:00 noon, Saturday, September 29, 2018, with visitation at 11:30. Officiating will be Joye & Roger Perry. A luncheon will follow the service at the First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. There will be a grave side service that morning at 10:00 a.m., Grant Memorial Cemetery, Marion Indiana.
In lieu of flowers, Donations may be sent to: Alzheimer’s Foundation of America 322 Eighth Avenue 7th Floor New York, NY 10001 tel: (866) 232-8484 American Heart Association National Center 7272 Greenville Avenue Dallas, TX 75231 tel: (800) 242-8721