Orville H. Hall, 83, of Vivian passed away on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 at Avera St. Mary’s in Pierre. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, September 9th at 1:00pm at the Vivian Church with a viewing one hour prior to the services. A private family burial will immediately follow the services at the Vivian Cemetery.

He was born on June 30, 1938 in Pierre, SD to Sam and Signe (Sletto) Hall. He grew up in Vivian, SD the youngest of five brothers. In 1956, he graduated from Vivian High School and went on to attend his mother’s alma mater Black Hills Teachers College (BHSU). He graduated May 1959 with a BS in education and began his teaching career in Hot Springs that fall. He met Nila Rust, the love of his life in Hot Springs and they were married on August 21, 1960. His teaching career included Hot Springs, Vivian, and Witten, South Dakota. In the summer of 1970 he received his Master’s Degree at Black Hills State University and moved his family to Hill City, SD to become superintendent of the Hill City School system.

Orville and Nila built and opened the Hall Mart grocery store in Hill City in 1972. After selling the grocery store, Orville became Executive Director of the Black Hills Girl Scout Council for five years. He often reflected upon his time with the Girl Scouts as one of his favorite jobs. He felt that he was able to have a significant influence on future leaders and garnered many lifelong friendships. Orville and Nila then bought and operated The Rushmore Café where he was always ready with a pot of coffee and loved talking to everyone. Orville was elected as the first Mayor of Hill City. Orville and Nila were one of the founding members of the Community Lutheran Church in Hill City.

In 1988 they moved back to Vivian where they owned and operated a restaurant and lounge until they retired in 2005. The restaurant was a local favorite and hunters returned year after year for the great steaks, drinks and conversation. Orville and Nila started the annual Vivian Syttende Mai, the Norwegian national celebration, complete with lutefisk, lefsa and a parade.

Orville and Nila’s retirement involved spending their summers in Vivian and traveling to Yuma, Arizona for the winter. Orville was an avid gardener throughout his life and always enjoyed showing his crop to anyone that stopped by for coffee. They were unique as a couple. Throughout their 61 years together they were rarely apart. Having started several businesses and working as a team, they contributed to every community they lived in.

Orville was preceded in death by his parents, Sam and Signe (Sletto) Hall, his four brothers and their wives; Clifford (Lola) Hall, Oris “Rusty” (Carol) Hall, Wayne (Beverly) Hall, Alvin (Helen) Hall.

He is survived by his wife, Nila (Rust) Hall of Vivian, and two children; Roger (Tami) Hall of Rapid City and Keeta (Blaine) Mackay of Mesa AZ, six grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.

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