Marilyn (Hawkins) Hall passed away at Hays Medical Center in Hays, Kansas on September 13, 2016 not too far from Dodge City, the place of her birth on August 18, 1930. Her parents were Clyde and Frances Hawkins. When she was a child the family moved to Merriam, Kansas and later to Fairway when her father began teaching chemistry and physics at Shawnee Mission Rural High School. Following in his footsteps, she earned her teaching degree in 1952 at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. Marilyn then married Robert Clark and taught high school science in Beverly, Kansas. Together they had three children who survive her. When her children became older Marilyn continued her education and received a master’s degree from the University of Kansas in the Department of Special Education. She taught special education classes and became a “consulting teacher” helping other teachers in the Shawnee Mission School District.
Marilyn was soon recognized as an exceptional teacher and was sought out to teach high school dropout students at the Juniper Gardens Children’s Project (JGCP) in Kansas City, KS. Beyond her success in the classroom, she became a researcher at JGCP and earned her Doctoral Degree in Special Education at KU in 1975. Marilyn then received a federal grant to implement a program she designed called Responsive Parenting, which taught over 3,000 parents positive behavior management skills. Following that she went into private practice and specialized in counseling parents of children with behavioral problems. After finding that many of those parents had marital problems, which were negatively affecting their children’s behavior, she became a marital counselor and went on to help countless couples and families.
Having divorced, she married Dr. R. Vance Hall in 1977. Over the course of their careers they carried out research and gave seminars and presentations across the country. They authored and were editors of a series of manuals, which are still in print, designed to teach both parents and professionals behavior management skills (The ‘How to Teach’ Series). Their educational materials have been used widely and translated into Spanish, German, Hebrew, French, Portuguese, Swedish and Chinese. Beyond their professional lives they loved to travel the world together, and wherever she was, Marilyn especially loved time spent with family and friends.
Much to our sadness, Marilyn became ill while on the way across Kansas on a trip to once again visit some of our National Parks. She succumbed to the effects of influenza and viral pneumonia. Marilyn is survived by her husband, Vance Hall, her sister, Fran Nelson (Richard), her three children Douglas Clark (Catherine Thompson), Debra Goodman (Karl Bricker) and Julie Adams (Clyde); and three daughters who came into her life when she married Vance, Alison Dildine (Jamie), Darien Smith, and Laurel Stitzhal (David). She is also survived by eighteen loving grandchildren, thirteen great grandchildren and a host of others. She was an intelligent, caring and effective teacher, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend to so many. We will miss her incredible zest for life and the color of her eyes. They were “that” blue!
A memorial service will be held at a future time at JGCP in Kansas City, Kansas. Memorial gifts may be sent to The R. Vance & Marilyn Hall Graduate Student Award Fund through the Kansas University Endowment Office, or to a charity of your choice. Gifts to the named fund may be made online at www.kuendowment.org/makeagift or by calling 1-800-444-4201 ext. 576.