Nancy Hall Hiler

Nancy Harris Hall was born on the island of Galveston on December 3, 1952 to her parents Joseph and Jessie Hall. She was their second child, following her older brother JB, whose status as an only child she ruined by being born. Living so close to the water, she carried the sea in her heart the rest of her life.

Soon the family moved to Arlington so Joe could work at Vought, and they found their new home in a brick house on Briarwood Boulevard. This would be the home she and her brothers would grow up in, and where her parents would live for almost fifty years.

From early on she was a caretaker, watching and helping to raise her younger brothers Peter, Larry, and Ronnie. Peter, who had a number of physical and mental disabilities, needed extra care and support from his family, and Nancy was unflinchingly his advocate.

Though she loved her brothers, they were still boys, and, with their neighborhood cohorts, they drove her crazy. She found refuge with her best friends Beth Bontley and Marla Johnson. Allied thusly, Nancy could withstand the scourge of boys.

At 19 Nancy married Glen Lorenz. Eight years later in 1979, they welcomed their first daughter, Jessica. In 1984 following separation from Glen at 32 and, while expecting her second daughter, Meredith, Nancy took accounting courses at UT Arlington and went into business for herself as an accountant. Meredith soon arrived, early, and needed extra attention for her health issues. Nancy, however, still had time to make the world turn.

In 1985 she reconnected with a grade school classmate and former admirer, Danny Hiler. A year later they were married and running their own business, Arbor Tree Service. The new family of four moved into a fixer-upper (read: derelict) Depression-Era farmhouse in Dalworthington Gardens at Nancy’s suggestion. She delighted in making it into a wonderful home, full of family heirlooms, antiques and art she collected, and frequently the aromas of her cooking. Outside, she transformed an overgrown yard into a lush and vibrant garden. In 1992 she and Danny had a son, James.

Over the next thirty years Nancy would take care of her children, her parents, her mother-in-law, and everyone she considered a friend. She wore many hats: advisor, teacher, contractor, caretaker, librarian, antique dealer, native gardener, art gallery hanger, animal rescuer, mover of mountains, and guiding star to many. Always an artistic eye, always a shoulder to lean on, always good advice and a clever remark. She was endlessly generous with her love, time, and talents, and she helped many of those around her through the storms in their own lives.

In October of 2023 Nancy was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia, and following four months of treatment, she died of complications related to her illness on Wednesday March 6th, surrounded by her husband and three children.

Nancy Harris Hall Hiler is preceded in death by her parents Joseph Bancroft Hall (1918-2003) and Jessie Louise Harris Hall (1926-2015), and by her brother Peter Harris Hall (1957-1976). She is survived by her husband Daniel Joseph Hiler, daughters Jessica Ranly Lorenz (partner Michael Katz) and Meredith Hall Lorenz, son James Daniel Hiler, and brothers Joseph Bancroft Hall, Jr. (m. Rebecca Guthrie), Lawrence Thomas Hall (m. Tonya Hall), and Ronald Paul Hall (m. Brooke Mixon).

A memorial gathering will be held at the family home on Saturday April 27 at 2:00pm.