Adele Hall, a philanthropist well-known for giving back to her community in Kansas City, has died at a family home in Hawaii. She was 81 years old.
Hall, whose husband was a chairman for Hallmark Cards, worked closely with Children’s Mercy Hospital and the STOP Violence Coalition. She was also the first female president to serve under Heart of America United Way. Her non-stop giving is one of the many things her friends are remembering about her as news circulates of her death.
Hallmark spokesman Steven Doyal said, “We lost a great human being,” he said. “Her greatest passion was in the area of children. She believed passionately in the potential of every child.”
Hall’s work with the children’s hospital was close to her heart, and those who knew her say it was a passion she worked tirelessly for, moving seamlessly from hosting million-dollar fundraisers to actually working at the hospital and spending time with the children.
“She touched all our lives,” said friend Mary Shaw Branton. “There was an aura around Adele. ‘How can I help? What can I do?’ She didn’t care if she was president or chairman of the committee. I don’t think she ever cared. It was more, ‘How can I find a solution?’”
Hall was widely considered to be “First Lady” of Kansas City through her ceaseless efforts to help those around her. She leaves behind her husband of 60 years, two sons, several grandchildren, and countless touched lives.
