Young Rockwall woman engaged to be married in May passes away

A 24-year-old Rockwall woman, who was engaged and planning to be married in May, passed away last Sunday.

Laura Melissa Vick passed away Jan. 10. The cause of death is not yet known.

She was engaged to be married to Michael Moore.

According to Rest Haven Funeral Home in Rockwall, her family will accept visitors Friday, Jan. 15, from Noon until 2 pm. A funeral service will be held at 2 pm, officiated by Dr. Aubrey Patterson of Rest Haven. Interment will follow in Rest Haven Memorial Park.

According to her obituary, Ms. Vick enjoyed drawing, writing poems and singing. She loved her family and her dog, Rollie. She worked in sales and attended Lake Pointe Church.

She is survived by her parents, Wendy and Larry Ryan of Rockwall; her fiancee, Michael Moore, and his parents, Kay and Mike Moore; plus several aunts and uncles.

We send our condolences to her family and friends.

Wife of Rockwall Congressman Ralph Hall passes away

Mary Ellen Murphy Hall

(Click on photo to enlarge)

The wife of 14-term U.S. Congressman Ralph Hall (R-Rockwall), Mary Ellen Murphy Hall, passed away today at their Rockwall home. She was 83.

She had been in the hospital for two weeks but returned home Monday, according to Hall’s congressional office. She had long been battling a degenerative disease.

Rep. Hall had spent all his time with his wife since Congress was in recess and was with her when she died, according to Hall spokesman Tom Hughes.

“Mary Ellen was the love of my life and my best friend,” said Hall in a prepared statement. “She was a wonderful woman of great strength and character, a great mother and grandmother, and a wonderful companion and traveler.”

The Halls would have celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary in November. They married Nov. 14, 1944, while Hall was serving in the Navy in Pensacola FL, the same day Hall received his pilot’s wings.

Mary Ellen Hall was active in her church, First United Methodist in Rockwall. She graduated from Texas A&M Commerce with a degree in speech and drama. She served as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Rockwall ISD from 1973 to 1978, twice serving as the board’s vice president, according to Rep. Hall’s office.

Hall said he has received many condolence calls.

“I know it is because of the many people she met who admired her and loved her.”

In addition to her husband, Mary Ellen Hall is survived by three sons and five grandchildren.

Funeral services are to be held at 4 p.m. Friday at First United Methodist Church, 1200 Yellow Jacket Ln. in Rockwall. A visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Rest Haven Funeral Home in Rockwall.