Harold “Hal” Fardal

Harold “Hal” Fardal passed away peacefully in the presence of his family on January 6, 2013 at the age of 82. Hal was born on March 3, 1930 in Webster City, Iowa and grew up in the nearby town of Stanhope. The youngest of three children, he took early to the pursuits of academic excellence, athletics and music. He graduated from St. Olaf College, the University of Wisconsin, and Yale Law School and also studied in Olso, Norway on a Fulbright Scholarship.Hal served in the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps in Germany and was honorably discharged in 1955. After law school, he moved to Seattle, where he knew only one person. He quickly found his first job in law at Keller Rohrback, where he became a partner and continued to practice until his retirement 47 years later.In 1962, he married his beloved wife of 50 years, Geraldine (“Gerry”), a singer and teacher. They had two children while living in Seattle, then moved to Mercer Island where Hal served on the school board from 1971-1979, ran endless miles while training for marathons, listened to hundreds of Mariners games on the radio while working in the garden, and forged countless lasting friendships. He also was named the King County Bar Association’s Volunteer of the Month in October of 2004 for his pro bono legal work, and served as Chairman of the Stanley Ann Dunham Scholarship Selection Committee in 2010 and 2011. In his spare time, he enjoyed composing funny poems, managing the law firm softball team, researching his “100% Norwegian” family history, singing Tom Lehrer songs, and watching the eagles and hummingbirds who alighted in nearby trees. His motto was Carpe diem, and he indeed seized every day, accomplishing so much even at the end of his life as he battled cancer.In addition to his wife, Hal is survived by daughter Karen of Seattle, son Mark of Hadley, MA (Kimberly), two granddaughters, his sister Ann Carlberg, brother-in-law Robert Nein (Sally), and a large network of extended family, colleagues and dear friends. He was the definition of a good man – honest, decent, kind, generous, loyal – and will be so very missed.A celebration of Hal’s life will take place at 1:00pm on Saturday, February 23, in the Sanctuary of East Shore Unitarian Church, 12700 SE 32nd Street, Bellevue, WA, where he was a member of the church choir and congregation for many years.In lieu of flowers, please feel free to contribute to your favorite education-, arts-, or health-related charity in Hal’s honor.