Civil Engineer Jack Newton Hall Dies
Jack Newton Hall, a leader in Southern California civil engineering who put his stamp on fast-growing Orange County and was the father of actress Diane Keaton, has died after a five-month fight with brain cancer. He was 68.
Hall died Saturday morning at his Corona del Mar home with his wife at his side, friends and family members said Monday.
Hall, founder of the Costa Mesa-based civil engineering firm Hall and Foreman Inc., helped design Lion Country Safari parks in Laguna Hills, Texas and Japan.
His was the vision behind the master-planned communities of University Park, Turtle Rock and University Hills that later became the heart of the city of Irvine. He also worked closely with Orange County businessman George Argyros on the development of the San Clemente property that served as the Western White House for former President Richard M. Nixon.
“Jack had a great impact on the development of Southern California, especially to the development of Orange County,” longtime friend and retired partner Hugh H. Foreman Jr. of Corona del Mar said Monday.
“We had--what--35 years together as very close friends and associates. It’s a sad moment,” Foreman said of Hall’s death.
Losing his friend and business partner is “like having your right arm cut off,” Foreman said. “You couldn’t ask for a more honest partner and associate.”
Hall was perhaps proudest of his tenure as a member and chairman of the Santa Ana city Planning Commission, according to his daughter Robin Hall-Bevington.
Hall was born in Omaha, Neb., and moved with his family to Southern California at the age of 5. He earned a degree in civil engineering at the University of Southern California and subsequently worked for the city of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the Orange County Flood Control Districts.
In the mid 1950s, he became assistant director of public works for Santa Ana under Foreman until he left in 1962 to start his own firm. Foreman said he joined his friend two years later and added his name to the masthead of what would become one of the more successful engineering firms in Southern California.
Hall, described as a friendly, unpretentious man despite his wealth, also had a flair for unusual dressing. Hall’s daughter Diane made her father’s wardrobe a trademark in the 1977 film “Annie Hall,” for which she won an Academy Award.
“The way Diane dressed in ‘Annie Hall’ is the way Jack always dressed,” said Moneen Becerra, a longtime associate and manager of human resources for Hall and Foreman.
Keaton took her mother’s maiden name when she learned that there already was an actress named Diane Hall registered with Actors Equity.
After his retirement four years ago, Keaton gave her father as a birthday present of acting lessons at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, Becerra said. He and his wife shared bit parts in Keaton’s 1987 film, “Baby Boom.”
“He just had fun with it,” Becerra said. “That was Jack. He just had fun.”
Hall was also one of a small circle of old-time surfers who frequented the waves at San Onofre. He was still surfing in his retirement years, Becerra said.
It was last March when doctors at UCLA Medical Center diagnosed Hall’s condition as an inoperable brain tumor. He underwent extensive treatment, including radiation and chemotherapy, and was sent home two months ago, Becerra said.
Hall’s remains were to be cremated, and a private interment is planned.
A memorial ceremony planned for friends and relatives on Sunday is “intended to be a celebration of his life, not a mourning of his death,” Becerra said. Friends are encouraged to speak or to write their remembrances, which would be read at the ceremony.
The time and place of the ceremony had not been determined late Monday. Becerra said to contact Hall and Foreman Inc. for more information.
Family members declined to say whether Keaton will attend the service. “Diane wanted the spotlight to be on Jack and his accomplishments,” Becerra said.
Hall is survived by his wife, Dorothy Keaton Hall; son John R. (Randy) Hall, a poet living in Laguna Beach; daughters Dorrie Hall of Los Angeles, Keaton of New York City, and Hall-Bevington of Sharpsburg, Ga., and two grandchildren.
