Peter M Hall, beloved professor, scientist, and father, passed away peacefully on August 24, 2026. He was 92 years old.
Born as the fifth of eight children, he learned early to navigate a crowded household with a gentleness and humility that would follow him all his life. His gift for song led him to the Cathedral Choir School of St. John the Divine in New York City, leading to an eighty-year journey with church choir. There, he studied Greek, Latin and etymology- and even into his eighties, he was reading the Principia Mathematica in Latin.
In an incredible testament to his dedication and precision, he went on to earn a PhD in physics using a manual slide rule instead of a calculator. A pioneer of the electronic revolution, he grew his own silicon crystals for early experiments, and coauthored a seminal textbook on circuits. He was mesmerized by the fluid properties of solder, a changeable mixture of tin and lead. He used a split laser beam to measure the expansion of solder under heat, discovering knowledge critical to building chips. He published dozens of papers on original research. His brilliance was awarded the title of Distinguished Fellow by the IEEE.
While working on his PhD he met his beloved Betty. Their early dates were free church dinners, while he worked his way through graduate school. Whenever he came home, he always returned to Betty, wherever she was- sometimes to her chagrin, as he tracked mud through the house. She was the light of his life and they were married 67 happy years.
After earning his doctorate, he worked at the prestigious Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill NJ where he coauthored “Thin film Technologies”. During those years he and Betty had four children: Michael, Ann, Sarah, and Philip. They moved to Allentown, PA in 1964 where they lived until 1990. He was a loving father who enjoyed singing silly songs, swimming, sailing, and playing ping pong with his children. Peter was deeply grieved by the untimely loss of both of his sons, but remained a favorite uncle, pouring into his nieces and nephews. This became such a part of his identity that he sometimes identified himself as Uncle Pete even to his grandchildren.
As Pete and Betty transitioned into retirement, he remained involved in the community, tutoring college students and volunteering at St. Anne’s Church in Middletown.
St. Anne’s was the focus of both Peter and Betty’s years, after family and career, and in his last moments, Peter’s thoughts were of his church and the community he built there. During his time there, Peter remapped the cemetery, and took it upon himself to fulfill the conditions of a hundred year old bequest which he rediscovered. He also, with great regularity, led a Wednesday night service, even in winter with no heat.
Peter was an immensely practical man, and spent a great deal of time, especially in his later life, building and helping others to build. His intellect and his occupations were often strange bedfellows, as when he used pages of complex trigonometry to install a railing- or in using an oscilloscope to measure the properties of his personal car. Peter spent much of his later life working to repair and maintain the church he loved, until, at one point, fearing for Peter’s safety more than Peter did, the local priest threatened to call the police if he wouldn’t stop getting up on ladders to do repairs.
Peter was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Betty, and his two sons, Michael and Philip. His legacy of integrity and intellectual curiosity will be carried forward by his daughters, Ann and Sarah- and his dedication to his community, to love, and to God will be carried forward by all who knew him.
A celebration of Peter’s life will be celebrated on Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 10:00 am at the Old Saint Anne’s Church, 105 St. Anne’s Church Rd, Middletown, DE 19709. Inurnment in the adjoining churchyard.
For online condolences visit: www.mccreryandharra.com
