BAILEY ISLAND – Lois Hale, former Dean of Arts and Sciences at UT Permian Basin, died Feb. 5, 2022 at her home on Bailey Island, Maine, with three generations of her family close by.A memorial service is being planned for the summer when her family can gather to celebrate her life. It will also be streamed for the many people whose lives she touched in Odessa and throughout the world.Lois grew up in New England the youngest of three siblings, and spent much of her youth keeping up with her older brother and cousins. This resulted in a life-long competitive striving for excellence and a love of sport. In high school she excelled at basketball, in one high school game outscoring the entire opposing team. She was a field hockey goalie and badminton player at the University of Maine and received her Doctorate in Sport Psychology from Temple University.She joined the faculty at the University of Texas, Permian Basin in Odessa, Texas in 1974, one year after its founding, and immediately established herself as a force in the school’s Kinesiology department, teaching a variety of courses including Sport Psychology and Exercise Physiology.Lois was a fierce protector and advocate for her students and was dedicated to building UT’s then-youngest branch into a vital educational resource for her West Texas community. In keeping with UTPB’s mission, she was a pioneer instructor in the UTPB distance learning initiative created by her husband, Doug Hale, bringing college courses to students throughout West Texas and beyond.In 2004 she became UTPB’s Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, leading that college for six years before stepping down, intending to slow down before retirement. UTPB’s needs were not over, however, so she served as Interim Dean of the School of Education the next year.Lois also served as president of the Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. Her professional accomplishments are not best measured in titles, but instead by the many, many people who have said, “she changed my life.”Lois met her love Doug Hale at UTPB. They married and raised two sons, David Hale and Peter Hale. She loved spending summer vacations visiting her beloved Bailey Island, Maine, where she and Doug eventually purchased the historic schoolhouse as their retirement home. Since retirement they’ve hosted numerous family, colleagues, and friends in their island retreat.She was meticulous about her show-stopping garden, became an integral member of the Bailey Island church and community, and loved mentoring students at nearby Bowdoin College. She became famous among her Facebook friends for her nightly sunset pictures.When Covid slowed down personal contacts, Lois began a new tradition of baking with her grandchildren over Zoom. By passing on recipes to another generation that she learned from her grandmother, she ensured that the pie for which she is rightly famous shall live on. For all her many accomplishments, she always thought of others first. She was a deeply loving wife, mother, and the absolute best Nana.Lois is survived by husband Doug, her brother Don and sister Dot, her son David and daughter-in-law Anne-Cécile of Maryland, son Peter and daughter-in-law Orenda of Portland, and grandchildren Hannah, Sophie, Madeleine, Charlotte, Luca, Lola, and Poppy.Condolences may be shared at http://www.FuneralAlternatives.net

Copy the Story Link