Obituary
Robert Henry Hall 1939-2009
Robert "Tzaddi" Henry Hall, 70, died October 17th, 2009 in his apartment overlooking Lake Union in Seattle.
He is survived by his three sons: Matthew Fass, Harbhajan "Haj" S. Khalsa, and Owen Hall, his granddaughter, Sundarta K. Khalsa, as well as his extended family and many, many friends.
Tzaddi was born was on February 13th, 1939 in Ann Arbor, Michigan to George Henry Hall and Rosa Margaret Doyle. He had one sibling; an older brother named George Michael Hall (1934-2007). At age four, he, his brother and his mother moved to Boulder, CO after the death of his father.
His formative years in Boulder, when not in school, where spent exploring and playing in the mountains nearby. He and his brother had an early introduction to rock climbing and mountaineering at this time. The natural beauty of the Boulder area had a lasting impact on Tzaddi's life direction and lifestyle.
Tzaddi graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign school of Architecture in 1962. His professional life as an architect took him from London to Chicago and finally to the Seattle and Vancouver where he practiced for the last 30 years.
Tzaddi's life was characterized by his willingness to explore the nature of life and himself through art, travel, the high mountains, spiritual practice and simply extracting as much joy from living as possible. He was raised in a house full of art, grew to be an expressive draftsman and a lover of art. His experiences in the counter culture let him to a thirty year practice of Zen and Tibetan Buddhism. He traveled and explored throughout Europe and at age 55, he made a spiritual journey to Mt Kailas in Tibet. He was an avid mountaineer and chose the Northwest as his home in part, to be close to the mighty Cascades. Above all else, he was a lover of life. He will be missed.
There will be a service in his honor at the Kadampa Meditation Center (6556 24th Ave NW) on December 4th @ 7pm. In addition, there will be a celebration of his life at the Eastlake Zoo Tavern (2301 Eastlake Avenue East) on December 5th at 4pm. Both events are open to the public. In lieu of flowers, contributions towards the funeral expenses are welcome. Please see our contributions page.