Law School Mourns the Passing of Benefactor Sharon Sue Hale

Sharon Sue Hale, who with her husband James Hale ’65 generously supported the Law School for many years, passed away at the age of 80 on Oct. 24.

Born in northern Iowa, Sharon spent her early years at Fort Snelling, where her father worked for the Veterans Administration. She met her future husband in junior high, and they married while he was an undergraduate at Dartmouth College. During Jim’s three years at the Law School, Sharon supported the two of them by working with the Peace Corps at the University. They settled in Edina, Minnesota, and Jim went on to a career with Faegre and Benson, General Mills, and Target.

Sharon Hale was a tireless volunteer for a number of civic and charitable causes. She served as a board member for the Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis, the 1006 Summit Avenue Society (which supports the Minnesota governor’s residence in St. Paul), the Edina Art Center, and the Edina Federated Women’s Club. She was named Volunteer of the Year in the city of Edina and Person of the Year by the Minneapolis/St. Paul chapter of the Foundation Fighting Blindness. After she and Jim moved to Bonita Springs, Florida, in 2007, she became an ardent supporter of the Holocaust Museum of South Florida.

Over the years, the Hales were devoted contributors to Minnesota Law. Their gifts included the funds to establish the Jim and Sharon Hale Excellence in Legal Education Fund, a dean’s discretion fund that opened in 2007 and closed in 2019 when the monies were fully disbursed.

Sharon is survived by Jim, her husband of six decades; their three children; six grandchildren; four siblings; and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. A private family memorial service will be held next summer.