Tafida "Taffy" A. Hall was born on April 12, 1948, and she passed away on Friday, July 2 in the very early morning hours. She is survived by her husband of 48 years, Charles "Chuck" F. Hall, III, and their children: Angie, Amy, and Charles. Angie has two adult children: Mark and Jazmine. Amy is married to Chad Matthew Podraza, and they have three children: Braden, Briana, and Benjamin. Taffy's son is married to Amani Said Mohamed El Sayed, and they have one child, Sara. Taffy is also survived by her brother, Mohamed, and his adult children Amr and Abeer. With all her being, she passionately loved each and every one of them, including her extended family and friends spread across the world.

Taffy heard the calling of God in the diverse religious texts she studied over the years. However, in her final years she heard God's voice most clearly through her Catholic faith, which she fully embraced.

For Taffy, love was the essence of life. Love was her most important connection to God and to people. She loved people deeply and she deeply loved God. She appreciated the gift of life that God gave her, and tried to make the most of it by having a positive impact on the people around her. For Taffy, love was not just an inner feeling, it was a burning passion that motivated her to constant action to positively impact those around her, through prayer, thought, word, and deed.

Her mother was Fatma "Zizet" Mohamed Tawfik, and her father was Abdel Fattah Abdel Daym El-Dasouki. Her great-grandfather was the prominent Sheik El-Dasouki in Suez, Egypt. Her mother, in her early adult years, was a professional dancer and featured in the Egyptian movie, El-Houb, which means "The Love."

She grew up in Doqi, an elite, upper class district in Cairo, where Western values were then embraced. Her mother sent her to Catholic boarding schools, where she was profoundly moved by the life example of the Catholic nuns, and seriously considered following in their footsteps. She explored her Muslim, Christian and Jewish heritage, and studied the Abrahamic faiths in her teenage years. At the age of 15, her family put her to work at her Aunt's hotel, where she met professionals and vacationers from abroad. She lived one block from Tahrir Cinema, and would frequent the cinema and opera house with her family. She loved animals, and had dogs as a child. She voraciously studied languages, mastering seven with full fluency, and many others with conversational ability. She enjoyed dancing as a ballerina and playing the violin while in Egypt.

She, her mother, and brother left Egypt in the late 1960s. They traveled to Greece, then Italy, and finally settled in Spain. In the fall of 1972, Taffy and Chuck met at a wedding, while Chuck was on military assignment to Spain. Taffy married Chuck in Zaragoza, Spain on June 8, 1973. Their first child, Angie Eve Hall, was born on April 9, 1974. Angie's Arabic name, Amul, means "love." Taffy arrived at Seymore Johnson A.F.B, in North Carolina in August 1974. Taffy appreciated the freedoms and opportunities of America, and became a US citizen on December 5, 1978. She had their second child, Amy Emil Hall, on September 23, 1976, in Florida. Amy's Arabic name, Isma, means "blessing from God." On March 1, 1978, their third child, Charles F. Hall, IV, was born. His Arabic name, Taric, means "door knocker."

After her wedding, she focused her energies into her partnership with her husband and into providing a great life for her children. Taffy was a devoted wife, mother, and child of God.

She loved to cook and bake while she had her children at home. She enjoyed sharing time with people while they enjoyed her food. She made elaborate Mediterranean dishes. She baked a variety of breads in large volumes and loved sharing them with family, friends and neighbors. She also enjoyed making

sweets from many different cultures. She baked and elaborately decorated cakes for her family and friends for their birthdays, special occasions, and holidays. She enjoyed having her children take dishes of cookies and sweets to neighbors.

She enjoyed beautifying her surroundings; designing, stitching, stretching and framing large tapestries of Egypt. She sewed a variety of dresses and skirts for her daughters, and knitted hats, scarves, and sweaters for her children and loved ones. She crocheted baby clothes, blankets, doilies, and doll clothes for family and friends. In addition to beautifying the inside of her home, she enjoyed enhancing the outside. While she had children in her home, she was an avid gardener. With Chuck, she grew garden vegetables and sunflowers. She enjoyed adorning her yard with beautiful flowers, bushes, and trees.

She was a beautiful woman with a dynamic and fiery personality. She was classy, sophisticated, and opinionated. She never hesitated to express herself and stand up for what she believed in. She was charismatic, charming, and gregarious. She enjoyed meeting people and interacting with them. She found great meaning in helping people find solutions to their individual problems. She loved making people feel loved and making them laugh. She enjoyed the process of bargaining and negotiating. She had an uncanny ability to identify the needs of individuals. For a short time, she worked at a clothing store, and was the number one sales person in her region.

She loved to dance. Her 48th birthday was celebrated in Adana, Turkey, near Incirlik AFB, where she and Chuck danced the evening and night away with large numbers of local friends and family. Even in her later years, when she could barely walk, she periodically enjoyed dancing from her chair.

She spent much of her time and energy helping others through her volunteering and charitable works. She discretely donated throughout her adult life to orphanages in Egypt, Spain, and elsewhere. It deeply concerned her that children were growing up without the love, attention, and protection of a loving parent.

She was a head judge for USA sanctioned swimming competitions in Hawaii while her children were swimmers, and she would not hesitate to disqualify even her own children, if warranted. She also organized swimming meets, as well as took her children's team to competitions.

Throughout her husband's military career, she routinely volunteered to serve the young airmen and their spouses. She often served as a volunteer liaison for military trainees from the Middle East, explaining American culture and inviting them into her home to eat traditional Middle Eastern dishes. She was chair of the Airmen's Attic, chair of the Dental Clinic, and chair of Family Services at Altus Air Force base in Oklahoma. Additionally, during Desert Shield/Desert Storm, she educated the families of deployed service members about Middle Eastern culture; answering their specific questions, addressing their unique concerns, comforting and assisting them, even while her own husband was deployed. Her many contributions were instrumental in the family being awarded Altus AFB Family of the Year for 1991. During Chuck's last military assignment, she served as chair of the American Red Cross for Rota Naval Station in Spain.

In her later years, she enjoyed playing games with family and friends. She played an Egyptian card game called Koon Kan, enjoying a win to loss ratio of 5 to 1 over Chuck. She had a high aptitude for puzzles and strategy games, and games that involved reading people.

In her final years as her health continued to decline, she and Chuck spent as much time together as possible. They enjoyed each other's company and continued to learn more about each other; playing games, watching movies, listening to music, talking with friends and family, studying Catholicism, and praying together. Their relationship with each other deepened, as their relationship with God strengthened. During this time, Taffy could no longer stand very long, walk very far, or even use her hands well like before. Despite this, Taffy lived her last months as she had her entire life; living life to the fullest within her abilities, loving others as much as she could, and appreciating each day God gave her. Every day, even her last, was spent focusing on loving others and embracing the miracle of life that God had given her. Those of us who have been profoundly touched by her loving prayers, compassionate thoughts, comforting words, and self-sacrificing actions, will benefit from her tender kindness for the rest of our lifetimes. She will truly be missed, and we will deeply miss her.

In Lieu of Flowers, please, send donations to Regina Caeli Parish and place in the memo line - In Memory of Tafida A. Hall.