Joan Ellen Hall

JOAN E. HALL

OBITUARY

April 15, 1941-March 8, 2022

Joan E Hall, 80, of Aztec, New Mexico, was given her angel wings while at her home in the early morning of March 8, 2022. She was born April 15, 1941 to Ina Mae and Curtis M. Durham in Kalispell, Montana. She was one of six girls.

While still living in Kalispell, Montana, Joan met the love of her life, Reedy Hall.  Reedy was playing piano at the Montana Hotel piano bar and it was instant love for both of them.  He saw her write her name “Joan E” and from then on she was known as Joanie. Reedy also played in a band and they needed a drummer, and Joanie told him she was a drummer. She had played drums in the marching band in high school, so it may have been a bit of stretch to say she was a drummer.  But she stepped up to the job and they played music together for the next 40 years traveling throughout the United States and Canada.

In 1978, Joanie and Reedy moved to Flora Vista, New Mexico and bought the Country Palace Nite Club.  It was a hopping place with live music every night.  Some of the biggest names in country music played there, including Merle Haggard, George Jones, Porter Wagoner, Vince Gill, Asleep at the Wheel and too many more to name. The Country Palace billed as the “Home of the Stars,” but was also home to many local people in the Four Corners who loved to dance, listen to music, or just stop in to visit the bartenders.

Eventually, the oil and gas boom went bust, the fine dining establishment attached to the Country Palace, the Trough, closed down, and the entertainment industry in general ebbed and Reedy and Joanie decided to lease the business.

In March of 2000, Joanie was gifted with a lung transplant that saved her life, and then in 2003, her sister, Laurie, gifted her a kidney.  Joanie was one of the longest lived lung transplant recipients, and March 11th would have marked her 22nd “rebirthday.” Because of Joanie’s health, and the desire to travel, she and Reedy sold the Country Palace in 2008.

In March 2015, Joanie’s beloved Reedy passed away.  We were all amazed she stayed with us for nearly seven years after his passing. Her son, David, lived with and cared for her after Reedy’s passing.  We are sure Joanie is now wrapped in Reedy’s arms of love and that they are together with their lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

In addition to being a business owner and beloved employer, Joanie was a beautiful mother to three children, a grandmother, a great friend to many, and a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Joanie was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Reedy R. Hall, a baby daughter, Hillary Heather Hall, and her parents, Ina Mae and Curtis Durham. She is survived by her daugther, Brenda L. Hall (Riddle), sons David R. Hall and Daniel (Sonia) Hall; grandchildren, Trebor (Inga) Riddle, Blaise L. Hall, Siera (Shawn) Trujillo, Brooklynn Hall and Nicholas Hall; a great granddaughter, Sariah Trujillo; sisters Carroll Norman, Margaret McCubbins, Denise Woodward, Marilyn (Paul) Johnston and Laurie (Cliff) Stevens; and numerous nieces and nephews.