In Memoriam: Philip Ray Hall

It is with great sadness that the College Park-Sandy Spring Alumni of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. shares the passing of our beloved Brother Philip Ray Hall to the Chapter Invisible on Nov. 3, 2013.

Philip Ray Hall was born on August 16, 1926, in Catonsville, Md. to the late Roberta Nichols and Samuel Hall, Sr. "Ray" as he was known, was educated in the Catonsville and Baltimore City Public School Systems. He graduated from Frederick Douglas High School in 1944, and soon after moved to Pennsylvania where he attended Lincoln University for a year before being drafted into the Army during World War II.

After serving in the Army, Ray drove a cab and worked at the Post Office to finance his college education at Morgan State College where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1957. It was at Morgan State that Ray began his life-long dedication to the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. Ray was a Fall 1949 initiate of the Alpha Iota Chapter at Morgan State and was an active member for over 50 years.

Ray worked as a Program Manager for the Department of the Navy (NAVSUP) Washington DC for 25 years. He received numerous awards for his outstanding performance, and traveled the world extensively during his tenure at NAVSUP. Ray lived in Philadelphia, Baltimore City, Columbia and Silver Spring, Maryland before settling in Adelphi, MD when he married Silhouette LaVerne Ford in 1998. Ray was a learned man with a variety of interests. He played baseball when he was younger for the Crescent Elks Baseball Team. He also enjoyed fishing, tennis, racquetball and golf. Ray appreciated the Arts, and was a member of the Baltimore based, Arena Players, one of the oldest theater groups in the country. Ray loved to listen to both jazz and Classical music, and he loved to read. Ray was an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church for 34 years. He served on the church's Vestry and both trained and served as a Lay Eucharistic Minister and Lay Reader. He was also a member of the Men of Trinity. In the community, Ray was a mentor at Coppin University and Pimlico Middle School. Ray was also a volunteer for the Vacation Bible School at Trinity Episcopal Church and a member of the 100 Black Men of Maryland for 16 years.

To honor Brother Hall, the College Park-Sandy Spring Alumni Chapter, along with Eastern Province Polemarch Howard L. Tutman III and numerous past members of the Alpha Iota and Theta Theta Chapters performed the Kappa Burial Service during his Memorial Service on Nov. 25, 2013. Brother Ray Hall leaves to mourn his wife of 15 years, Silhouette LaVerne Hall, a host of nieces and nephews, his stepdaughter, Michelle Jackson, grandsons Bruce Ford and Kevin Nolan Jackson, as well as many other relatives, friends and Brothers in Kappa.