MARCH 28 – Leslie Marshall Hall Jr., United States Navy (Korea), professor of History at Longwood University (1963-2000), died Tuesday, March 26, 2013 in Farmville. He was born July 2, 1930. Mr. Hall was born and raised in Portsmouth.

After his honorable discharge from the Navy, he received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in History from Duke University, with additional graduate study at the University of North Carolina.

He and his wife settled in Farmville in 1963, where they have lived since. He taught for 37 years at Longwood University in Farmville serving several years as Chair of the Department of History, Political Science and Philosophy, and retired in 2000.

Mr. Hall's life has ended, but his home brims with his spirit. There are gifts from students whose lives he touched, expressions of gratitude to a teacher of singular capability. Maritime paintings hang on the walls, created with care and skill as he developed his abilities as an accomplished watercolor artist. Effects from his days as a sailor, gardener, Cub Scout mentor, writer and other pursuits reveal the diverse interest to which he ably turned his attention. In his bedroom remains a capable personal computer, with which in his later years he developed substantial technical savvy and kept in touch with his scattered family. A careful thinker and astute observer, he brought quality to all that he did. We are diminished by his loss, but we who have known him-whether as a friend, colleague, teacher, husband or father-are magnified by his presence in our lives.

He remains a Navy man and Duke Blue Devil. May he find rest and eternal light at the port of no return, where ships may ride at anchor for a little space.

He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Janet; sons, Jeffrey of Flagstaff, AZ and Jared of Fredericksburg, and grandsons, Jonathan, Benjamin and Nicholas.

Memorial gifts may be made to either to the Department of History, Political Science and Philosophy at Longwood University, Farmville, VA or to the United States Navel Academy Foundation, Annapolis, MD.

A graveside service will be held Saturday, March 30, at 2 p.m. at Westview Cemetery, Farmville.

Family will receive friends on Friday, March 29 from 7 p.m.- 9 p.m. at funeral home.

Puckett Funeral Home, Farmville, is serving the family. www.puckettfh.com