Mary Nell Gray Hall passed away on February 23, 2024, in Austin, Texas, after a joyous, full life of 98 years. Zane Bruce Hall, her loving husband of 64 years, predeceased her in 2013. She is survived by her brother, Henry Alton Gray (Billie); her children, Nancy Hall Einhorn (Kenneth) and Donald Roy Hall (Heather); her grandchildren, Daphne Einhorn, Lauren Einhorn, Charlotte Einhorn, Allison Hall, and Graham Hall; her sister-in-law, Joyce Gray; and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.
Mary Nell was born in Lytle, Texas, on December 11, 1925, the second oldest of seven children. Her parents, Gladys Velma McNiel and William McMurrian Gray, both belonged to pioneering families in Atascosa County, Texas. After graduating from Lytle High School in 1942, Mary Nell worked as the Youth Director at Travis Park United Methodist Church in San Antonio. She met Bruce Hall there in 1946. They married on August 27, 1949. Both attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and Mary Nell graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1952.
After graduation, Mary Nell worked for the personnel department of Texas Instruments in Dallas and New York City. Later she was Assistant to the President of the Graduate Research Center of Southwestern Medical Center. She also served as President of the Dallas Rose Society. After Mary Nell and Bruce retired, they settled in Austin and spent summers in Livingston, Montana. She worshipped at Northaven United Methodist Church in Dallas and Holbrook United Methodist Church in Livingston.
She was a loving wife, caring mother, and beloved grandmother. She deeply valued her friends and nurtured many close connections for decades. She remained close with generations of Gray and McNiel family members and loved returning to visit the Gray family farm where she was born.
A memorial service to celebrate her life will be held in Dallas later this year. Her remains will be interred alongside her husband Bruce at Greenwood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to The Mary Nell Gray Hall Endowed Scholarship Fund at Southern Methodist University (giving.smu.edu).