from the USTA Communications Department

Columbus, OH — Ruel Joseph Hall, 82, of Averill, Vt., died in San Diego, Calif., on Jan. 11, 2012.

He was the oldest son of the late Max and Mabel (McMahon) Hall. Mr. Hall, known to many as “Joe,” was born September 14, 1929, in Groveton, N.H.. He married Patricia Anne (Gormley), on June 20, 1953. They were married for almost 56 years until she died in 2009.

Mr. Hall grew up in Groveton, N.H., and graduated from Groveton High School. After graduation, he attended Keene State College (then called the Keene Normal School). He fought in the Korean War, graduating from Keene State upon his return from Korea.

While his children were young, Mr. Hall and his family resided for eight years in Dublin and Peterborough, N.H. After that they lived in Groton, Mass., for 22 years. It was in Groton where Mr. Hall, then a 35-year-old elementary school principal, became involved in the Standardbred sport.

He gained experience and insight from older horsemen, including the late Harold “Stubby” McNiff, Russell “Spike” Harrington, and Harry “Old Pete” Peterson among a host of others. Acquiring his Standardbred education through the counsel of these men and others, as well as simple trial and error, he learned to train, breed, and drive Standardbreds. Over the course of 40 years in the sport, he owned close to a thousand different racehorses. The thrill of harness racing called to him, and he especially enjoyed buying young horses, getting them race-ready, and then selling them. Both he and Patty enjoyed working with the horses, and their young lives grew busy with teaching, racing horses, and raising a family.

After many years as an educational administrator and teacher as well as a respected harness horsemen, Mr. Hall retired. He and Patty spent 19 winters in Pompano Beach, Fla., and summers at their home on Maidstone Lake. The couple’s harness racing continued, with young horses gaining experience racing in the Vermont summer fairs and then moving south to Pompano Park in Florida for their debut.

Mr. Hall is survived by his children, JoAnne (Harold) Gulbransen, James (Jeanne), Peter and Dr. Maureen Patricia Hall; grandchildren, Joshua, Krista Gulbransen, Katelyn Recksiedler, Jessica, and Dana Gulbransen; and siblings, Maxine Izzo, Lorraine Norton and Robert.

A mass and celebration of his life will be held this summer at St. Francis Xavier Church in Groveton, N.H.