Wendell Woods Hall, Jr.

Wendell Woods Hall, Jr. passed away peacefully at home the morning of July 10, 2018 surrounded by his loving wife and family. He was born in Chicago, IL on August 23, 1928. Wendell was preceded in death by his parents, Marion Merchant Martin Hall and Wendell Woods Hall, Sr.; and his brother, Lowell Martin Hall. Wendell is survived by his wife of 58 years, A. Margaret “Peggie” Hall (Dismuke) of the family home; sister-in-law, Mary Hall of Chicago, IL; son, Russell Hall (Rachel) of Albuquerque, NM; daughters, Margery Hall Thompson (Wade) of Tonganoxie, KS, and Marion Hall Salopek (Dave) of Las Cruces, NM. Wendell is also survived by six grandchildren, Sheila Salopek Petty (Tyler), David Dewey Salopek, Holley Martin Thompson, Allison Schafer Thompson, Haylee Arden Salopek, and Kristina Marie “Kiki” Hall; as well as a niece and numerous nephews.

Wendell was born and raised in the Ravenswood area of Chicago near Wrigley Field. From a young age, Wendell was instilled with a strong work ethic, steeled determination, a fierce loyalty to family and country, strength of mind and character, a love of sports, and a keen eye for detail.

Wendell graduated high school from The Chicago Latin School in 1947 which he attended on a scholarship given to him by an anonymous donor. He was a five sport athlete while at Latin participating in baseball, basketball, track, football and golf. He attended Northwestern University and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in English and History in 1951. Wendell was a Korean War Veteran. He served in the Army and was stationed in Panama from 1951-1953. He returned home in 1953 and began work at The Chicago Tribune as a sports statistician. With the assistance of the GI Bill, Wendell attended night school at Chicago-Kent College of Law and earned his Juris Doctor degree. In 1958 Wendell began his 25-year career as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Department of Justice. His first assignment with the FBI brought him to Albuquerque, NM. He met A. Margaret “Peggie” Dismuke on a blind date that was arranged by her best friend.

Wendell and Peggie were married at First Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque on December 5, 1959. FBI assignments took Wendell, Peggie, and a growing family to Field Offices in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, NM; Washington, D.C. (Russell); New York City, NY (Margery); San Juan, Puerto Rico (Marion); Miami, FL, and finally back to Albuquerque, NM in 1976.

Wendell was a member of Old Cutler Presbyterian Church in Miami, FL. He served as a Deacon, Elder, and Clerk of the Session for his church family. He was a National Rifle Association Police Firearms Instructor and a founding member of the Miami-Dade FBI Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team. While in Miami, the kids joined Sheeler Winton Swim Club and Wendell and Peggie volunteered at numerous swim meets throughout Florida. Wendell was a starter and they ran the snack bar for many years. The Sheeler Winton Green Chili Cheeseburger was the number one requested item. The family moved to Albuquerque, NM in 1976 and Wendell worked in the Albuquerque FBI Field Office until he retired in 1983. He went to work as a Private Investigator for another 10 years, conducting Security Clearance Background investigations for the Office of Personnel Management until 1993.

Wendell’s favorite sport was baseball. He also enjoyed softball, handball, squash, racquetball, camping, hunting, fishing, downhill and cross-country skiing, shooting sports, and rappelling out of helicopters. In 1988 his Miami SWAT Team took a reunion trip to Oregon where they white-water rafted the Snake River and climbed Mount Hood. In his senior years, Wendell won multiple New Mexico State Singles and Doubles Racquetball Championships, gold medals in the New Mexico Senior Olympics, and gold medals in the World Racquetball Championships. He continued to play racquetball until he was 85 years old.

An interest in Genealogy led Wendell to meticulously track family trees, family history during the Civil War, and Civil War Battles. Other memberships and accomplishments:


Beta Theta Pi, Roe Chapter, Northwestern University
The International Legal Fraternity of Phi Delta Phi
Music Maker Productions, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
Lifetime Member, Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI
Vice-Chairman, Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI, NM Chapter
American Guild of Authors and Composers/Songwriters Guild, Estate Membership
United States American Legion
Master Mason, Cerrillos Lodge No. 19 A.F. & A.M.
Abou Saad Shriners
National Rifle Association Legion of Honor
Emeritus Member, National Society Sons of the American Revolution
Member, Society of Mayflower Descendants In The State of Illinois
New Mexico Athletic Association, New Mexico Special Olympics and USA Swimming Official, 20 years
Member of the One Hundred Club of New Mexico
New Mexico Licensed Real Estate Broker


Wendell was the rock and honored head of our family. He will be remembered as a loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend. Wendell instilled in his children values of integrity, determination, trustworthiness, honesty, reliability, and True Grit.

Services will be this Saturday, July 14, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. at FRENCH – Wyoming in Albuquerque. Honorary pallbearers for the service will be Wade Thompson, David Salopek, David Dewey Salopek, Tyler Petty, Stuart Blakely, Mark Dismuke, Stephen Dismuke, Mark Hall and Matthew Hall. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a memorial contribution to the Former Agents of the FBI Foundation, www.socxfbi.org, and Heritage Home Health Care and Hospice, www.heritagehomehealthcare.com.