Gary Hall

Gary Curtis Hall, age 81 years, long-time Saginaw Bay area resident; brother, uncle, local geologist and historian, GM retiree, and resort owner died peacefully Wednesday evening, October 7, 2026, with family gathered at his bedside at the Cass County Medical Care Facility near Cassopolis, Michigan. His family is grateful for the kind and compassionate care provided by the staff at CCMCF.

He was born on November 15, 1944 in Saginaw, Michigan to Doyle S. and Lola C. (Toner) Hall, and was graduated from the former T. L. Handy High School in Bay City, Michigan. He continued his education at Delta College, which serves Bay City, Midland, and Saginaw (hence the “Delta”), and earned a bachelors degree from Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, with a major in education and a minor in geology.

Gary was employed for 26 years by General Motors in Saginaw at its former Chevrolet Grey Iron Foundry and its successor, Saginaw Metal Castings Operations. He experienced the transitions from hand-pouring molten iron into molds to machine-pouring, from casting iron to casting aluminum, and from soot-covered walls and workers to clean air and bright lights. He was a member of the United Auto Workers union local #668. He also owned and operated the Fort Tranquil Sands Resort on the tip of Michigan’s “thumb”, west of Port Austin, Michigan, offering 150 feet of Lake Huron beachfront.

He was raised in the Baptist tradition of Christianity, and later attended the Peoples Church in Bay City. After moving to Dowagiac, Michigan in 2017, he began attending the Grace Bible Chapel in Cassopolis, Michigan. As a geologist, he studied rocks, minerals, and fossils, often at Sand Point on the east shore of Saginaw Bay, which was on his route to Port Austin. He also studied the history of the indigenous community around Saginaw Bay, and as a student of history and nature, science and geology, he was a long-time subscriber to The National Geographic Magazine.

Gary also had artistic interests, learning to play the harmonica while in his youth, and later adding the accordion to his talents. But above all of his interests, his greatest joy was gathering with his family.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Doyle and Lola Hall, and sadly by a 9-month-old brother, Kenneth Hall.

Surviving family includes his brother, Robert (& Kathy) Hall of Dowagiac; a nephew, Chris (& Missy) Hall, and niece Carman (& Jonathan) Wildes; great-nieces and nephews, Christian Hall, J.D. (& Karen) Hall, Laura (& Reid) Lowry, Zachary Hall, Josiah (& Ashley) Wildes, Victoria Wildes, Olivia (& Kalan) Plew, Kristina Wildes, and Hannah Wildes; great-great-niece and nephews, Bethany Rose Hall, Nolan Lowry, Everett Wildes, and Bennett Wildes; a former sister-in-law, Elaine Hall; and a close circle of special friends.

The funeral for Gary Hall will be at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, October 13, 2026 at the Grace Bible Chapel, 412 East State Street in Cassopolis with Elder Rick Williams officiating. Committal Services will follow at the South Wayne Township Cemetery. The family will receive relatives and friends on Tuesday, at the church, beginning at 10:00 a.m. Arrangements were completed at the Halbritter-Wickens Funeral Home, 615 East Main Street in Niles. Memories and condolences may be left online at:

www.halbritterwickens.com

Gary’s eighty-one years has fulfilled, and surpassed the Biblical suggestion in Psalms 90:10 that we might live to be 70, or by strength 80. He enjoyed those years, studying the most elemental wonders of Creation in the rocks and sandy beaches. More importantly, he enjoyed the guests at Fort Tranquil, and every moment spent with his family; all evidence of fulfilling the command to love God and love people.