William B. Hall ’47

Bill died June 16, 2014, at his home in Moscow, Idaho, where he and his wife had lived since 1965. He had been a geology professor at the University of Idaho.

Bill was born in Cincinnati and matriculated at Princeton in 1943. After a short stint with the Army, he returned, joined Terrace Club, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in geology in 1949.

Moving back to Cincinnati, he married his wife, Liz, and received a master’s degree in geology from the University of Cincinnati before joining Pure Oil Co. as a field geologist in Colorado and Wyoming. Returning to academia in 1954, Bill earned a Ph.D. at the University of Wyoming and then joined the faculty of the University of Idaho, where he taught from 1965 to 1991. His specialties were geomorphology, geologic hazards, field geology, aerial photography, and photo geology.

Bill was excited to spend eight weeks in 1964 doing geo research in Italy with Princeton’s John C. Maxwell, his favorite professor while he was an undergraduate. Active travelers, Bill and Liz spent seven summers in New Zealand, and traveled to Alaska and all the Western mountain states.

Liz died in 2008. Bill is survived by their son, David; daughters Patsy and Molly; two grandsons; and a great-grandson.

The class sends its memories of this active friend with a dry sense of humor and a love of animals and natural beauty to his family.