Mildred V. 'Millie' Hall

Millie passed away in Lake Oswego Februry 12, 2020, at the age of 96. She was born November 13, 1923 to Robert K. McGee and Sophia Tubessing McGee in Warrenton, Mo., the second of four children. Her parents passed away by the time Millie was 10 years old and she lived with relatives on a farm until high school. She then lived with a family in St. Louis, taking care of a younger child. She attended Blewett High School, where she graduated as the valedictorian.

After graduation, she worked in a hospital as a dietician's aide, which she enjoyed, since it was along with her older brother Wilbur. Wilbur soon joined the Army Air Corps and Millie went to the University of Wisconsin on a full scholarship. It was there that Millie met her future husband, Wilfred "Bill" Zelenski, who was called to Navy service in 1942; they were married in 1943. Her brother Wilbur became a P-51 fighter pilot and he was lost in action over Germany in June 1944.

Bill and Millie had three children: Sue (Mitchell), Jody (Schwartz) and Michael. Bill served in combat as a Navy pilot in WWII and Korea and was killed in an air accident in 1952. At the time, Millie and her three children lived in San Diego, where she then finished her teaching degree at San Diego State College.

Millie married Francis L. "Frank" Hall in 1956 and he adopted Millie's children. Frank was a Navy Chief Petty Officer and they had three more children: Lee, Maureen (Ryder) and Ray. After Frank's Navy retirement, they moved to Stayton, Ore., in 1970, living on a farm. Millie already had her real estate broker's license; after substitute teaching, she entered real estate full time. She owned her own realty business in Lebanon, Ore., and then in Stayton. She retired from real estate in 1998.

She was a member of Stayton's Immaculate Conception Church, the Altar Society, the Stayton Chamber of Commerce, Friends of the Library, Santiam Memorial Hospital Auxiliary and Santiam Golf Club. She served on the Stayton City Council and on advisory boards for Stayton High School. She loved to bowl and to play bridge. Her favorite charities were OHSU Cancer Research and the Oregon Food Bank. Millie also loved her Portland Trailblazers.

Millie had 14 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her two brothers; and her sister (Wilbur, Olan and Opal), husbands, Bill and Frank; her son, Michael; and her daughter, Sue. She had lived at Mary's Woods in Lake Oswego since 2002 and was well known and beloved by the Mary's Woods community.

Millie's family thanks the staff at Mary's Woods and Brighton Hospice, whose wonderful care was a blessing for our mother.

A memorial service at Mary's Woods will be announced later.

Millie's favorite words were "Wherever there is a rainbow, I'll walk a mile. I love to hear children singing."

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