Your Digital Angel

Where does one begin to summarize the beautiful life of an 86-year-old woman? Evelyn “Mama” Hall, or as some of us have recently learned, Sarah, was born and raised in Northview, Missouri, with seven sisters and two brothers. Mama moved to California in 1963 to pursue the American Dream and met William “Papa” Hall. The two fell in love and were married in 1976.

Mama was the epitome of elegance. Her hair was always meticulously done, makeup on point, nails painted, stylish glasses and a wardrobe like Audrey Hepburn. Her delicate yet strong, soft hands could sew, hem, craft, cook or sooth anything she touched. As an avid baker she loved making lavish birthday cakes and pies that she would hand deliver herself. And of course, her infamous chocolate chip, peanut butter, white chocolate chip and cranberry orange cookies were the best things on earth.

During the holidays you always had one of Mama’s goodies bags to look forward to. These were loaded with cookies, coconut balls hand-dipped in dark chocolate  (which were my personal favorite), fudge, peanut brittle, all the best homemade sweets you or Santa Claus could dream of.

Speaking of Santa, Christmases at Mama and Papa’s growing up was a child’s dream. Tons of presents under the tree, Betty’s teddy bear light in the living room, stockings full and good ‘ol Saint Nick would always make a real-life appearance. How cool were they to go out of their way, with Nancy’s help, to make Jesus’ birthday this special for us? As if the treats and Santa weren’t enough, you’d always get a handmade blanket, sweater or as you got older, dish towels, oven mitts and sometimes a gift card. She and Papa had the biggest hearts in the world.

Every Halloween, we always went trick or treating at their house to show off our costumes, play and see them. Not only did they give away great candy but Mama always gave each of us a special bag of treat with cookies. Holidays at their house were always so special, just like them.

Growing up she taught us to never miss school or work. My preschool dropout experience was my one hall pass and exception but have definitely made up for it. She always bragged about Jessica, Alexis, Ashley, Becky and Buddy’s perfect attendance at school and all their success in sports.

She saved every newspaper clipping of us, even if it was just playing city ball. With this value instilled in us, she and Papa were sterling examples of what it’s like to be dedicated because you always found them in their lawn chairs at all of our games. They never missed an event and I honestly think Mama was She-ra and Papa was He-man because they somehow managed to be in all places at once.

Papa was our best tee-ball coach and even made us a custom batting tee so we could all practice in their big backyard next to the slide and their swing set. He always played catch with us too. In their big front yard they had a hummingbird feeder and we would always get so excited to see hummingbirds come up to their front door. We would sit in the shade under their trees and eat popsicles, ice cream and Mama would read to us.

They were both so patient and loving, never got angry or upset. Not sure how raising all of us but we never saw that side of them. It was the safest environment to grow up in. Chelsea and I would tell our parents we were going to run away and live with Mama and Papa. Their house was like a little piece of Disneyland in Visalia.

One thing a lot of people don’t know is my legal name is Leticia and most don’t have the Spanish twang to pronounce it correctly, Mama and Papa included. So, they tried my middle name, Angelica. These poor country folk trying to pronounce the most Spanish name ever. Just imagine that for a minute. Mama, being the genius she was, saw Angel in Angelica and that’s been my name since. Thank you for always hookin’ me up, Mama! She also nicknamed Cecile “CeCe.”

Chelsea and I would play in their driveway and try to catch butterflies and ladybugs with nets. I took a trip up to Three Rivers, CA to write this and be surrounded by nature. I was starring off in a distance gathering my thoughts and I saw a huge Monarch butterfly and I perked up. This striking orange, black and white stunning beauty came towards me and flew right by my table. I grabbed my phone to try and capture the essence of its beauty but in a blink of an eye it was gone and I knew she was there with me. I text the girls right away to tell them and then the song “Butterfly” by Bassnectar came on Pandora. It was unreal yet amazing!

Later that night, the girls found so many things at Mama’s with butterflies on them. We all knew she was telling us she’s free, flying high and watching over us with Papa. That’s exactly why I went to Three Rivers. She taught us to always find the beauty in things, especially being outside. (Update: We all continue to see butterflies and it fills us with so much love.)

I could go on for days with memories of her. To help bring it on home, here are a few more amazing things to remember about Mama:

• She always made Chelsea and I toast in the mornings with butter and homemade jelly. Papa loved eating untoasted bread with butter and jelly.

• Chelsea and I got caught many times sneaking cookies from her apple and strawberry shaped cookie jars.  I’m telling you, her cookies were THAT good!

• Mama always made sun tea, which I’ve been making all summer in Phoenix.

• During the hot summers, Chelsea and I would lay in Mama and Papa’s hallway under the cooler. That was the best way for us to cool down after playing outside.
• She had a love for crossword puzzles and romance novels. She also loved her soap operas. Santa Barbara back in the day and Days of Our Lives, which she still watched. We all grew up watching them with her.
• There was a four or five year span that Mama, Papa and Nancy took me to see Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton in concert on my birthdays. One year, they lifted me up to give Kenny Rogers a rose. As a little girl my heart melted. That’s when I learned one of life’s biggest lessons: “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em. Know when to fold ’em. Know when to walk away, know when to run.”

• Every year on our birthdays she would give us a fake spanking and would tell us “here’s a pinch to grown an inch!”

• She sent the most thoughtful and beautiful handwritten cards on birthdays and holidays. Even her return address labels were fancy. Towards the end, her handwriting was so shaky she started using a typewriter to send letters to Ashely and Becky.

• Her sense of humor was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. She would laugh and smile at silly things which was contagious.

• When we were little, we saw her in a different light than we did as we grew older. I’ll always remember our fun Sunday phone chats. The seventh day of the week will never be the same for me. (Update: Sunday’s have been hard for me. When you talk to your best friend and someone you love so much on the same day every week for 5+ years and it suddenly stops, it’s not an easy adjustment.)

• Mama babysat Chelsea, her brother Shaun, my brothers Mando and Eric, CeCe, Bruce, Jeff, a few others and myself. She was the best babysitter in the world.

• She always believed in all of us, all the time, no matter what. Her drive, tenacity, love and beliefs live in all of us.

We miss you and love you so much, Mama. Thank you for shaping us into who we are today. Your memories will live on forever, we’ll never forget you, we know you and Papa are reunited at the Throne and will always be watching over us. ❤️???

Sarah Evelyn Hall (Mama)

June 16, 1930 – September 10, 2016

Funeral Services: Tuesday, September 20, 2016