Hilda Leoda Hall (nee Wagner)
Oct 19 1921 – June 28 2016
Hilda was born on the family farm near Hepburn, Saskatchewan, the eldest of six children of Carl and Leah Wagner (née Wienick). Her Parents later moved to a farm next to Hauge, where her father built the family home, and did mixed farming during the Great Depression. At age 17 in Sept 1939, war was declared and Hilda’s life and that of her generation were forever changed. Hilda became part of scores of women, the new faces of the work force, working at Crestcraft which made badges for uniforms. She later followed her parents to Abbotsford BC, where they settled on a new farm on Gladwin Road. It was then she met returning soldier Joseph Louis Hall, and they married in 1948.
Hilda opened and managed her own store, Hildegard’s, in Abbotsford called “Tots to Teens “. After Joe returned from the Korean War they welcomed a daughter Melanie Adele. The family went on to serve on two tours of duty with NATO in Hemer Germany, where they made great lifelong friends.
Hilda and daughter Melanie settled in Kelowna in 1967, where Hilda managed The House of Fabrics on Bernard, and later travelled with McCall’s Pattern Company in Western Canada. Her passions were fabrics, sewing, travelling, singing and photography.
She started sewing as a child, refashioning cotton flour bags into night gowns, and other clothes, and fancied them up with embroidery and hand done crochet trims. She loved designing, including making her own patterns, and sewing her own creations. She taught sewing classes and” how to fit pattern classes “in her home after retirement. Crocheting and needlepoint projects were always on the go.
Travelling took her far afield , to Europe, the Far East, cruising the Caribbean and Hawaiian Islands, and many trips with girlfriends to Mexico to her time share in Mazatlan. In July 1983 she won the Grand Prize of 10 quick tickets on Pacific Western Airlines to wherever they flew. One of the tickets took her to Toronto, and then with a friend Esther at their own expense they travelled to Jamaica. One of most her most cherished and special trips was river cruising in Russia.
She Loved Kelowna, and often remarked the happiest times of her life were at her home on Leon Ave, when she lived close to 25 years.
Hilda loved to sing, and sang with a band in Vancouver in the 1940s, choirs at her church in Germany, and with Sweet Adeline’s in Kelowna.
She lived life large and will be deeply missed.
Hilda was pre-deceased by Joseph Louis Hall, and Sister Shirley Ramsay. She is survived by her daughter Melanie (John) Hall-Szyszkiewicz, her brothers Wilfred Wagner, Richard (Leslie) Wagner, her sisters Gladys (Carl) Faber, Lillian McQuarrie, many nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews. (and her beloved dog, Oliver.)
There will be a service on Saturday, July 9, 2016 at Christ Lutheran Church, 2091 Gordon Drive, Kelowna, BC.
IN lieu of flowers Donations can be made in Hilda’s memory to the Hilda Hall Memorial Fund at Central Okanagan Foundation
http://www.centralokanaganfoundation.org/impact/