January 12, 1960 – October 11, 2026
Hans James Hall, son of Jim and Joan Hall, passed away after a long battle with Kidney failure on October 11, 2026, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth. He was born on January 12, 1960. Hans was raised in Lutsen, and it’s where his heart stayed his whole life, residing just down the drive from his parents and siblings. He was a man of many jokes and even more smiles. He married Greta Peterson of Fredenberg Township. Their wedding even had gingerbread houses lining the road to Greta’s parents’ house, where the ceremony was performed. They just celebrated forty years of marriage.
Hans is survived by his four children, Ada Joy Schlienz-Hall, Joeseph Thor Hall, Lee Hansene Hall, and Karla Rae Udenberg; and seven grandchildren, Roland King, Trygve King, Astrid Schlienz-Hall, Freya Hall, Andrea Young, Maria Young, and Cheyenne Udenberg.
Hans was a man who loved unconditionally; he was always the most excited to hear of a new grandbaby on the way or proudly tell you what his children or grandchildren have been up to. All the memories they have of bedtime songs, baking cookies, gravel pit target practice, riding in dump trucks, semis, or even the bucket on the loader will never fade.
Hans drove many things over the years: logging trucks when he ran his own business, dump trucks and heavy equipment from his time at Hansens True Value, semis from when he did over-the-road trucking, driving across most of the continental U.S.; he even drove school bus for Cook County School District, picking up his own grandsons as his first stop of the morning. Hans’s children all learned to drive riding on his lap down the back roads in the county he knew by heart.
You could often find him napping in his recliner with a dog or two on his lap, or fishing with his brother-in-law Steve Beach. He never learned to swim, but that wouldn’t stop them from taking a 12-foot boat onto the big Lake or getting lost on an inland lake when the fog rolled in, and the sun went down. Many a blender died to his love of making fishcakes from Northerns. His love for cooking and baking brought the whole family together, whether it be Swedish pancakes, donuts, pot roast, or chicken noodle soup with dumplings.
Hans was a man who was never late; even as his passing approached, he was prepared and knew when it was his time. He will be missed greatly and always loved unconditionally.
The memorial service will be held at Zoar Lutheran Church in Tofte on October 24th at 1:00 p.m.
