The Reverend Dr. John David Hall, 88, (Robert Donnell Presbytery) who served as moderator of the 162nd General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church which met in Jackson, Tennessee, in 1992, died on August 2, 2020.

John David was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on March 22, 1932, to Jewell Camp Hall and Mary Lee Benson Hall. John David attended Scottsboro and Morris Elementary Schools before graduating from Jackson County High School in Scottsboro in 1948. He was baptized and joined the Scottsboro Cumberland Presbyterian Church in 1944. From 1944 to 1946, he served as a page for the Alabama State Senate. He attended the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee, and the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, graduating in 1954.

John David came under the care of Robert Donnell Presbytery at the fall meeting at Meridianville Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Alabama on September 17, 1953. He was licensed the next spring on March 18, 1954, at Scottsboro Cumberland Presbyterian Church. On September 16, 1954, while continuing his theological studies at the Cumberland Presbyterian Theological Seminary in McKenzie, Tennessee, he was ordained at Robert Donnell’s fall meeting at Stevenson Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The Reverend J.A. Rodgers asked the questions and the Reverend O.H. Gibson delivered the charge. There was no ordination sermon.

He married Peggy Evans of Chesterfield, Tennessee, a teacher of physical education and dance, on June 28, 1956. Their son, Bradley David Hall, was born on April 6, 1960, while John David was completing his masters at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1964, he completed a Doctor of Education degree, also at Peabody. He did post-graduate studies at Peabody, Vanderbilt School of Medicine, and the University of Georgia. The Reverend Bradley David Hall is now a member of Robert Donnell Presbytery.

John David’s ministry took him to the Coker Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Alabama, First Cumberland Presbyterian in Jackson, Mississippi, Big Cove Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama, New Hope Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Lebanon, Tennessee, and Gurley Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Alabama. Besides Robert Donnell, he served in Mississippi, Nashville, Hopewell, Columbia, and Tennessee Valley Presbyteries. John David served on numerous denominational boards, perhaps most notably the denominational Board of Missions.

From 1962 to 1971, John David served Bethel College in McKenzie, Tennessee, variously as associate professor, Dean of Students, and Vice President for Development. Across the decade of the 1970s his activities turned increasingly toward psychology. He served as Director of Community Services for the Columbia Area Mental Health Center in Columbia, Tennessee and as an instructor in psychology for the Columbia Community College. He returned to Scottsboro in 1972 as the founder and executive director of the Marshall-Jackson Mental Health Center. In 1981, John David entered into private practice as a licensed clinical psychologist.

In 1992, John David Hall was endorsed for moderator by Tennessee Valley Presbytery shortly before assembly met. He was nominated by the Reverend David McGregor from Columbia Presbytery. The Reverend Don Coleman of West Tennessee Presbytery spoke on John David’s behalf.

Peggy died from cancer after an extended illness in 2005. John David married Carol Ann Love on August 14, 2006. They resided in Huntsville, Alabama where he frequently substituted in the pulpits at Big Cove, Huntsville, Gurley, and Stevenson Cumberland Presbyterian Churches. Carol retired from a 33-year career in social work a little over a year after their marriage. She patiently and compassionately attended John David during his time of his infirmity preceding his death.

Note: In some small details, this C P Magazine obituary differs slightly from the ones published in the secular press. In every instance, our information is taken directly from the biographical information sheets filed with the Office of the General Assembly which are now held by the Historical Foundation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America. Significant dates have been confirmed from judicatory and institutional minutes.