Sandra Marie Hall (Qualley) passed peacefully into the arms of the Lord on Monday, August 11th, 2025 in Whitefish, Montana after years of courageously fighting two rare neurodegenerative diseases as well as other illnesses. Her loving husband, Leonard, daughter Rachel, and grandson Anton, were there by her side when she passed. Sandra was an incredibly kind, creative, and giving person who always strived to make her family feel cared for and supported. Her deep faith sustained her throughout her life and helped her through tough times and loss. She was a deeply generous, compassionate person and will be greatly missed.

Sandra was born in Washington, D.C. on May 28, 1946, to Ernest and Marie Qualley (Binde). They had met while Ernest was serving in the Merchant Marines during WW2 and Marie was working as a stenographer at the Pentagon. When Sandra was six weeks old, they returned to Ernest’s farm in Ray, North Dakota. Here they farmed, and their family expanded to include Sandra’s brothers Ron (in 1948), Lyle (in 1949), Darryl (in 1960) and sister Sharlene (in 1957). Sandra grew up on the farm surrounded by a large extended family, who contributed to her becoming a kind, family-orientated person with deep Norwegian American ties. She and her siblings attended the Brekke School, which was a one-room, country elementary school, and Sandra graduated from Ray High School in 1964.

Sandra attended Concordia College, where her love of drawing and art led her to achieve a bachelor’s degree in art education in 1968. She taught art for two years at West Grant School near Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and then she accepted a teaching job at Havre High School in Havre, Montana. Here, she met and fell in love with Leonard Hall, who was working as an electronics technician for the Great Northern Railroad. Sandra always called Len,” the love of her life.” They were married at Rainbow Valley Lutheran Church in Ray, North Dakota on May 27th, 1972. They returned to Havre, and, soon after, their oldest daughter Andrea was born. In 1974, they all moved to Whitefish, Montana.

Sandra left her job as a high school art teacher when Andrea was born to dedicate her time and energy to raising their growing family, which expanded to include three more daughters: Vanessa (in 1975), Rachel (in 1977), and Jana (in 1984). She encouraged her children to pursue their dreams and to study hard throughout their years in school. She made sure that they each explored their interests when young, taking them to the library, dance classes, sports, and music lessons. Every summer, she took her daughters to the Qualley farm near Ray; here they would spend two weeks visiting relatives and friends, going on long prairie walks and helping out at the farm. Sandra also devoted much time to sketching and painting prairie scenes, broken down buildings, family members and the Rainbow Valley Church. She and her mother, Marie, introduced the girls to Norwegian favorites including lutefisk and lefse. As much as Sandra obviously enjoyed living in Whitefish, to her, Ray was always her home.

In addition to caring for her family, Sandra taught Sunday school at her church, Christ Lutheran, in Whitefish. She created a beautiful Noah’s ark mural in the nursery of the old church building and designed multiple bulletin boards and other works of art, which were displayed in the sanctuary over the years. Sandra’s artistic talent was immense; she saw beauty everywhere and in many unexpected places. Many of her relatives are lucky to have a few of her beautiful pieces.

Sandra saw each of her daughters attend and graduate from college, some with multiple degrees. She was so proud when Andrea, who had graduated as high school valedictorian, attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She was equally pleased that Vanessa went to Washington and Lee in Virginia for her undergraduate degree and that both Rachel and Jana attended Concordia College, her alma mater, for their undergraduates. While Sandra always encouraged her girls to work hard, she also listened and supported them in any problem they faced. Her reassurance made any concern manageable.

Sandra was there for many of her grandchildren's births, and she showered them with love as well as with ice cream and thoughtful gifts. Sandra leaves eight grandchildren: Lena (20), Sophia (18), Annie (16), Julian (14), Gareth (13), Lily (12), Anton (6), and Graysen (4). Sandra shared that she “always loved the wonder with which children viewed the world. “ Obviously, she held on to that wonder as she interacted with her beloved grandchildren. She also clearly expressed this sentiment through her love of art and beautiful landscapes, capturing them in paintings, sketches, and photographs.

Sandra spent her later years keeping family connections strong, corresponding, traveling to see family and going on memorable cruises. Her trip to Norway with her mother in the mid 1990’s was clearly one of her greatest memories. Here, she met distant relatives and explored the cities of her ancestors. Sandra also loved camping, especially in Glacier National Park, with Leonard and her children and grandchildren. Once in a while, she would have an adventure, such as the time she was sketching by Two Medicine Lake and saw a grizzly bear charging (she thought) at her. Of course she ran, and later she said she had never run so fast. Then she would laugh, as she knew this was the worst thing she could have done! Sandra always had a wonderful sense of humor, even when her disease was at its worst, and she loved to laugh at life’s little things. She shared that Leonard’s sense of humor was one of the things that she loved most about him.

Sandra’s daughters all have favorite memories of Sandra, some of which include:

-Andrea treasures her childhood memories of playing near her mom on remote Montana mountaintops while Sandra captured the surrounding beauty with her paintbrush. She is grateful to her mother for gifting her with a love of flowers and gardening and a deep appreciation of nature.
-Vanessa recalls going on long prairie walks with her mom, while Sandra shared her love of the landscape. She also remembers visiting relatives while Sandra sketched pictures and portraits, which she would later give to them.
-Rachel’s recent favorite memories include watching her mom and Anton play board games, including “The Mole Game” and enjoying brunches with her, Dad and Anton at “Logan’s Bar and Grill ” in Whitefish. Drinking sugary black tea, sitting in the dining-room easy chair and learning to read from her extremely patient Mom, is a favorite childhood memory.
-Jana loved traveling (and enjoying numerous coffee stops) with her mom. Some of these trips included riding on Amtrak to visit relatives or the numerous times when her mom (and dad) helped her move to new locations.

Leonard’s favorite memories include watching Sandra teach the girls how to ski at Big Mountain on $5 night-skiing Thursdays. He also remembers how pleased Sandra was to attend the Mother/Daughter tea with Jana in Colorado.

Sandra joins her father, Ernest; mother, Marie; and brothers Ronald (Katie), Lyle (Patti), and Darryl, in heaven. Her remaining family mourns her passing: her husband, Leonard; her daughters, Andrea (Peter), Vanessa (Steve), Rachel (Michael), and Jana (Loren); her sister, Sharlene (Eric); as well as many, many grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins. Sandra’s life and memory are a blessing to those who knew and loved her.