Shirley Armstrong Hall     September 14, 1923 – July 15, 2024

Shirley Armstrong Hall of Towson, Maryland, was a retired Baltimore County public school educator at Hampton Elementary in Timonium, Vice-principal at Cockeysville Elementary in Cockeysville, Principal at Pot Spring Elementary in Timonium, and Principal at Padonia Elementary in Cockeysville, until she retired in 1983, whose career spanned 30 years.  She died peacefully in her sleep on July 15, 2024 just 2 months shy of her 101st birthday.

She was the daughter of Helen Barrett Armstrong and George Seymour Armstrong of Lansdowne, Maryland and was a 1940 graduate of Catonsville High School.

Shirley was a 1944 graduate of the University of Maryland where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Arts and Sciences.  She earned a Master's degree in Education from the University of Maryland in 1961 and earned a Master's degree in  Liberal Arts from The Johns Hopkins University in 1975.

While at the University of Maryland she was a member of the Kappa Delta Sorority.  Shirley remained an active member of the KDs for over 60 years, serving as president of the Alumni Association from 1948 to 1950 and again from 1989 to 1991.  She also participated in the KD philanthropic endeavors and served other offices and on numerous committees.  Shirley was the 1996 Recipient of the Order of the Emerald in recognition of 60 years of loyal membership from 1943-2003.

Shirley was selected for a fashion assignment in a Harpers Bazaar Magazine edition to model professional women's attire during an early 1950's fashion season.

As a teacher of the 5th grade at the brand new Hampton Elementary in 1957, Shirley arranged a plane trip to Washington, D.C. where the class visited the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery of Art.  Her second innovative project was during another year when the class studied the history of communication and her class and a class in Nottingham, England developed a friendship through correspondence.  This project culminated with a telephone call the class made to the students in the classroom in Nottingham, England.  The class was thrilled by talking to children in a foreign country and some of the students continued their correspondence into adulthood.

She continued to teach for the next ten years and in 1971 became Assistant Principal at Cockeysville Elementary doing curriculum development.  Her science and social studies programs were used for the next fifteen years.  In 1974 she was promoted to Principal.

From Cockeysville Elementary in Cockeysville, Shirley went to Pot Spring Elementary in Timonium where she was Principal for several years before going to Padonia Elementary in Cockeysville as Principal, where she remained until she retired in 1983.

As Principal of Padonia Elementary her first mandate was to bring harmony to the school.  After she held the snake belonging to a boy some teachers feared, she had no trouble with anyone.  Families moved frequently and a considerable number of foreign students arrived speaking no English.  But Shirley capitalized on the diversity of the community and the American born students' lives were enriched through the association with the children from the many different cultures.  Padonia became an "International School" where Spanish and Japanese were taught.

Her marriage to John Arnold Coleman, Sr. in 1946 ended in divorce but produced twins, Paige and John Arnold.   John Arnold worked at the Baltimore Museum of Art in Prints and Drawings and preservation as an expert framer and mat cutter for framing.  He was also an artist, sculptor, exceptional guitarist, a sound engineer and a world traveler.  Paige worked in the music business in Los Angeles California for over 35 years and was an Assistant Vice President at BMI and member of music organizations including The Academy of Country Music, The Country Music Association, National Academy of Arts and Sciences and others.

In 1968 she married Joseph Adrian Hall, an auditor for 30 years for the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, dealing with corporations.  Joe was also a serious amateur astronomer.

Joe and Shirley traveled extensively to his Persian Gulf Command reunions and were invited to the White House for several 50th World War II Anniversary ceremonies.

Shirley also traveled the globe extensively to some of her dream destinations:  Nicaragua, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Peru, Chile, Rapa Nui, New Zealand, Australia, China, Jordan, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, France and Britain.

She was predeceased by her husband, Joseph Adrian Hall in 2000 and by her son, John Arnold Coleman, Jr. in 2021.  She is survived by her daughter, Paige Coleman Sober of Encino,  California and Towson, Maryland  and her cousins, Burke Barrett of Catonsville, MD,  Donn Barrett of Kensington, MD, and Bruce Barrett of Bishopville, MD.