Julia Ann Hall

Julia Ann Foster Hall was born August 27, 1927, to Glae and Gretchen Foster in Tipton County, Indiana. She grew up the daughter of a farmer and an elementary school teacher. She was proud to be a descendent of the Fosters, who were among the first European American settlers in Tipton and Howard counties.David Foster, a great uncle, is credited as the founder of Kokomo. She moved from the county, where she was a member of Hopewell Methodist Episcopal Church in Tipton County, into the town of Tipton before her junior year of high school. She graduated from Tipton High School in 1945, watching many of her classmates, including her sweetheart of a few years, volunteer in the war effort.

She attended DePauw University, where her friends started calling her “Judy,” and that moniker stuck. She studied music and was a member of Alpha Omicron Pi. She discontinued her studies to go to work at GE, as she was planning to marry Sidney Hall, Jr., whom she had met while attending a class at IU-Kokomo with a friend.

Sid and Judy married in 1950, when she began her lifelong membership of Main Street United Methodist Church in Kokomo, and they lived in an apartment in Kokomo while they started their careers, traveled to many foreign and domestic places, and eventually added children to their family. Judy established and managed for about twenty-five years The Style Nook, a Merle Norman studio and clothing boutique. She also helped Sid with their seasonal shops, The Toy Barn and The Shirt Shack. They welcomed three children in quick succession as they were designing and building their dream home in western Howard County, where they moved in 1963.

In addition to her work, Judy was involved in all of her kids’ activities, plus a number of her own: Eastern Star, Kappa Kappa Kappa, Greek Club, and Altrusa International. On top of staying busy with her business and the children, she went back to college and finally finished her Bachelor of Science in Business from Indiana University in 1971. When all three of her children were in high school, she sold The Style Nook and began working as a sales representative for eyewear, traveling two states until she was in her 80s. As a lifelong learner and one who appreciated an education, when she turned 60, she decided to exercise her brain and took graduate classes in addiction counseling. She never intended to change careers, so she didn’t do the practicum that would have earned her a Master’s degree, but she was proud to have done well in the classes.

After Sid died in 1995, she met a neighbor who had moved into the house across the road. She and Ron McCormick developed a close relationship about five years later and were engaged to be married, when Ron died suddenly from a tragic accident. Judy continued to live in the big house, occasionally having roommates who found themselves needing a place to stay temporarily. Her children appreciated knowing that people who loved their mom were there to help and keep her company. After ten years of widowhood, Judy reconnected with Bob Stroup, her high school sweetheart, who was also widowed, and they were privileged to add a second chapter to their love story. They married in November of 2005. Bob moved into the house where Judy had lived for almost fifty years, but they decided they wanted to be in a place where they could live on the ground floor and be closer to their doctors in Indianapolis, so they built and moved into a smaller house in Noblesville. While there, they became ambassadors of The Barrington of Carmel, a planned retirement community that eventually would become their final home.

Judy had twelve more fabulous years with Bob. She retired from her work, and they traveled a lot, visiting Judy’s kids and grandchildren around the country, but also taking some trips abroad. They also enjoyed simply being home together; you would see them holding hands while watching television, but also kissing in the kitchen.They were making up for sixty years of lost time together. They especially loved being in Bay VIew, Michigan, a place where Judy had taken her children every summer, where she and Sid had bought a cottage that housed incredible memories, and where, as the kids grew into adulthood and retirement, they started going back and buying places of their own: cottages in Bay View, or a condo on a nearby lake.

When Bob died in 2017, Judy continued to visit her kids around the country, even as she dealt with various health issues (mostly recurrent pneumonia) and some cognitive decline. She moved from their Independent Living apartment into Assisted Living because she needed help with her medicines. After a few years there, she moved into a two-room suite in Skilled Care, one large enough to hold her piano, which she played often, even at 98 years old. By then she needed extra care to remind her to turn her head when she swallowed food, among other things, so her children want to acknowledge and thank the wonderful caregivers who added joy, and no doubt time, to their mom’s life.

Of all the times that she had pneumonia, even though her lungs were fragile (perhaps from undiagnosed tuberculosis as a child), Judy was strong and always bounced back. Therefore, at Thanksgiving this year, when she was in the hospital again, her children were somewhat taken aback that her lungs were not going to let go of that particular bout with pneumonia. So all of her children got to her quickly, most of her nine grandchildren were able to see her, and those who could not were able to talk to her on the phone before she was sedated for comfort. “I love you” was the constant theme, and even after she was sedated, the medical staff commented how much love was evident in the room. In addition to her children and grandchildren being present, her sister Sue and niece were able to make it up from Atlanta to share their love too.

On December 1st, 2025, the oxygen that was keeping her alive was weaned away, and Judy’s breathing slowed and eventually stopped. It was a peaceful passing, and she looked as beautiful as ever as she slipped from this world.

Left to grieve her absence and celebrate her memory are her three children, Sidney Hall, III, (Mary) of Windsor, CO, Stephanie Reed (Greg) of Bloomington, IN, and Sinde Sue Wickersham (Rob) of Hoover, AL; her grandchildren, Rex Hall, David Hall, Daniel Hobbs (Dylana), Angela Hobbs (Alex), Foster Reed, Madison Reed, Hallyn Wickersham Swor (Shane), Julia Wickersham (Bart), and Gabriel Wickersham, and her sister Sue Foster Holiday. She also loved her three great grandchildren, Leo, Jax, and Sam, and her many nieces and nephews, who also took care of her and loved her dearly. Her kids offer special thanks to their cousin, Dr. Paula Hall, who was on call 24/7 and went running for any emergency that her dear Aunt Judy had; she also made sure that Aunt Judy always had family to go to for holidays when she stayed in Carmel on her own. All of those loved ones are just the family. The list is infinite of friends (and friends we call family) whose lives she touched and who loved her right back.

Gone before her are her parents, her beloved in-laws, Sidney (Sr.) and Gladys Hall, her fiancé Ron McCormick, and her two husbands, Sid Hall, Jr., and Bob Stroup,

Judy lived a long and wonderful life. She always counted herself fortunate to have such a fabulous family and extraordinary friends. Her example of living well, working hard, staying optimistic, and inspiring humor and joy in others will continue to influence many. She was a loving and dedicated mother, wife, sister, aunt, and friend, and she is already missed. Her son Sid shared the following poem just after her passing. It is how she lived, and it is now how we will go on without her.

To live in this world

you must be able

to do three things:

to love what is mortal;

to hold it

against your bones knowing

your own life depends on it;

and, when the time comes

to let it go,

to let it go.

-Mary Oliver

Judy was cremated, and her ashes will be interred in the Memorial Garden in Bay View, Michigan, with Bob; “in the backyard,” as she said, at Twin Springs Cemetery in Kokomo with Sid; and in Fairview Cemetery in Tipton, where her parents are buried. A celebration of life will be in July in her beloved Bay View, Michigan. The sprinkling of her remaining ashes in Indiana will be private, but we will have a gathering of friends to share stories in August in Kokomo, Indiana. Nothing is actually planned yet, but the kids will try to get the word out via social media and word of mouth.

Also, Sid and Sue would like to thank their sister Stephanie, who, because she lived in Bloomington, was close enough to run to Mom to watch over her and manage the caregivers and do all of Mom’s finances and so many thankless tasks. We know she did it all out of love for Mom, but we are deeply grateful to her for all of it.

Speaking of financial tasks, Mom’s two sons-in-law are the co-trustees of the trust and co-executors of her estate. Greg Reed, especially, has dedicated an immense amount of time and expertise working with Judy and Bob’s estate over the years and especially now as all the details are settled. We appreciate very much Greg's involvement and work on this matter.

If interested in making a memorial donation in her name, some suggestions are

Bay View Association, in memory of Julia Ann Hall

P.O. Box 583, Petoskey, MI 49770 OR BayViewAssociation.org/give-a-gift

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in memory of Julia Ann Hall

P.O. Box 4486, Houston, TX 77210-4486 OR MDAnderson.org/Gifts