It is still almost impossible for Devi Hall to grasp that her husband, boat captain Joe Hall – her soul mate, the father of their 10-year-old twins, and her business partner – is never coming home.
“I just can’t understand it. I can’t wrap my head around it,” Devi said. “He was just such an incredibly giving and generous person.”
On Saturday, Sept. 27, Devi and the Upper Keys community will say goodbye during a memorial at sea that will take place in the very spot where Joe proposed to her, underwater, while scuba diving.
“We were down on the bottom and he pointed to something and I was like, what’s that?” recalled Devi of that life-changing day roughly 15 years ago.
“There was a little plaque that said, ‘Will you marry me?’ And I turn around to look at him and he was holding open a ring box and I nodded vigorously and he put the ring on my finger and that’s how he proposed,” recalled Devi, as she choked back tears.
Theirs was a beautiful love story, cut short by what police describe as a senseless act of violence that took place just outside of Orlando on Aug. 14.
Joseph Hall Jr., 43, was driving in Sanford, there to help his mother who was being treated for colon cancer, when he and another driver got into a road rage dispute.
Police say that dispute ended with the other driver, 24-year-old Jaden Harris, shooting and killing the husband and devoted father.
“What led to this tragic death was a minor traffic issue, followed by Harris’ bad decisions,” Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith stated in a news release. “Now, Joseph’s family is painfully mourning his death and Harris is sitting in jail charged with homicide.”
Joe Hall was well known in the Upper Keys. He was born in Miami but raised here, a lifelong Conch with a passion for fishing.
Hall started out in his career working as a mate on the 65-foot Sailors Choice Party Fishing Boat, and eventually was able to buy the business. Soon, he and Devi added a second vessel to their fleet, the Angler’s Choice Sport Fishing Charter boat.
“He really poured his heart and soul into it and he loved taking people fishing,” Devi said. “He loved when kids would come out and they caught their first fish. He helped make those memories and he took a lot of pride in what he did.”
Hall was always ready to lend a hand, often helping out struggling boaters. This past New Year’s Day, he and his crew rescued a family of three, including a 7-year-old boy, after their boat capsized off Key Largo.
In the weeks since Hall was killed, the community has rallied around Devi and their children.
“This community is so close-knit and they’ve all shown up for us in a way that I never would have imagined,” Devi said. “From just doing a meal train, to cards and flowers, just everybody asking how they can help.”
As can be imagined, Devi and the couple’s twins, Asha and Ajay, struggle to cope with the unimaginable loss.
“They just miss him so terribly and they think about the holidays and they worry what that’s going to be like. They just miss him. They really miss him. He was very involved; he did so much with them,” Devi said.
As this family tries to heal, the crew of the Sailors Choice and the Angler’s Choice remain determined to help keep the business afloat.
“He made me make him a promise that I would continue to run the boat if anything ever happened to him,” said Sailors Choice captain Alice Fields.
CONTRIBUTED
Fields worked with Hall for eight years. She started as a Sailors Choice customer. After she earned her captain’s license, Devi and Joe brought her into the business. She has become like family.
“He was just such a good man. I just don’t know how to explain it; they just don’t come like that anymore,” said Fields.
Fields will be at the helm of the Sailors Choice on Saturday, piloting her beloved friend one last time, to his final resting place, about 3-1/2 miles off Key Largo.
A wreath and biodegradable urn will be placed at the site so dear to Hall’s heart, the place where he proposed to Devi, the love of his life.
“Anyone who wants to go out to celebrate his life is more than welcome,” Devi said .
Several boats will be participating in the ceremony. Those wishing to attend are urged to arrive at the Holiday Inn marina by 4 p.m., with departure scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and returning by 6:30 p.m. There will be a gathering at the Holiday Inn following the ceremony.
Donations in Hall’s memory may be made to the Bonefish Tarpon Trust at bonefishtarpontrust.org/donate or Coral Restoration Foundation at coralrestoration.org/one-time-donation.
