Farewell, Mary Ellen

In my time in Fannin County, reporting, one of the people I had the pleasure of meeting was Mary Ellen Hall, wife of U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall. Seeing the two of them together was a delight - and I am not a huge sentimentalist - because they genuinely loved each other's company. Today, the Dallas Morning News reports that Mary Ellen died today, at home, at the age of 83. November would've been the Halls' 64th wedding anniversary. Ralph called her "the love of my life" in a statement today and his best friend, but he also said it frequently when they were together, in person. He also said it in deed - he made a point to come home to every weekend when Congress was in session. It can't be easy to be the wife of a 14-term congressman, but I don't think I ever saw Mary Ellen Hall look anything less than ladylike. She will be missed.