a heavy heart

Time stopped on Thursday September 29th.  You felt it right?

Surely you felt it.

Because when someone we know and love dies, surely the world stops.

It feels like it stops.

And it makes your heart hurt.

I feel so privileged to have known Jonah.  I am so grateful that just three days earlier we had the chance to spend the evening with Jonah and his amazing parents at a family dinner.  Jonah radiated love and happiness.  He was such an amazing little boy.  We miss him so much.

Tell the people around you that you love them.  Be sure they know.  Hold and love your children, even if they are big enough to pull away.  Make sure they feel your love for them.  Life is not fair and too short sometimes so help your loved ones know.

Jonah Ramsey Hall was born to his loving parents, Julia Harker Hall and Jordan Max Hall on July 14, 2010, in Provo, UT.  On September 29, 2011, a beautiful and sorrowful September morning, Jonah returned to the loving arms of his Heavenly Father. 

Jonah was given an imperfect body, and faced many challenges, but his soul was beautiful, resilient, and the magnitude of his spirit was apparent to everyone he met in his short life. 

When Jonah was born we struggled to find a name for him, as we prepared to leave the hospital with our sweet baby we finally chose the name Jonah.  The name Jonah means “dove” or “peacemaker.”  He truly brought a spirit of peace into our home.  He filled our lives with happy memories and pure joy.

Jonah noticed everyone and everything.  At a restaurant or at the store he would stare at a total stranger until the stranger had no choice but to become a dear friend.  He taught us how to notice sounds, sights, and people that we had previously overlooked or ignored. 

Jonah was full of life.  He climbed as high as he could, devoured grapes and cantaloupe, danced to music, loved cats, and threw everything that he could lift. He loved to play outside and his feet were always filthy.  He loved to go for bike rides, open cupboards, see animals in our neighborhood, swing, and play with other children. He shared the things he loved with everyone.  It was not unusual for him to hand his blanket to someone in church, inviting them to hug it and enjoy its comfort. 

Jonah’s short life should remind us to “become as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love and willing to submit to all things…as a child doth submit to his father” (Alma 3:19)

Jonah will be deeply missed by his parents, Julia and Jordan Hall, his grandparents, Linda Carter-Hall, William Mark Hall, Alan and Stephanie Harker, his great-grandmother Doris June Harker, his uncles, aunts, and cousins. 

We are so grateful for the many doctors, specialists, nurses, and teachers who helped to enrich and improve his life from the moment of his birth, through his beautiful life, and in his death.

As a family we pray that you will cherish your children, hold them close, and experience the kind of love and joy that we felt for Jonah.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, October 4th, at 11:00 am at the Mapleton 5th ward, 970 North 400 East, Mapleton.  A visitation will be held prior to the funeral from 9:45-10:45 am.  In lieu of flowers please contribute to an account at Central Bank under the name “Jonah Hall.”