Margaret Hall Porro

Margaret was born in Chicago, IL, but spent most of her childhood west of there, in Rockford, IL. Born to Ambrose Tompkins Hall and Janet (Doane) Hall, she was the middle child of sisters Virginia (Hall) Beard, and Dorothy Hall. She was a very social child, which carried on to adulthood. Margaret was a member of the competition guard of the Rockford Rangers Drum and Bugle Corps. In the late 60’s, Margaret moved to the Pacific Northwest to attend Seattle University where she earned a degree in Social Work.

After college, Margaret joined the Peace Corps and worked in Brazil where she learned Portuguese and developed a rural community development program on projects related to education, health and agriculture. Upon completing her two-year plus Peace Corps tour when others had dropped out, Margaret achieved the recognition, “flexibilidade e jeito,” for being creative and self-reliant. After her Peace Corps assignment, Margaret traveled extensively throughout South America and returned to permanently settle in Seattle. She married Joseph Lloyd, and began a lifelong career as a Parole and Probation Officer for King County, WA. After retiring, Margaret moved to Bellevue with her second husband, Tom Porro, with whom she spent many happy years. Margaret was a proud member of the Bellevue chapter of the American Association of University Women.

Margaret loved world history as well as discovering her own family history. She was a member of the Seattle Genealogical Society and Library and traveled to Salt Lake City annually for two decades to do genealogical research at the FamilySearch Library. She researched her maternal family back to the Mayflower. Genealogy was a true love of Margaret’s and talking about all of the ancestors she had discovered over the years was one of her favorite things to do.

Margaret was an avid reader of fiction and nonfiction. She loved Inuit and Asian art, maps, cats and birds. Margaret’s love of all animals led her to the Woodland Park Zoo where she was a volunteer and docent for many years. Her great love of travel took her to Europe many times and to Africa for three safaris in Kenya and Tanzania with the Maasai Organization. She was the lead and organized her third safari with Maasai elder and warrior, Kakuta Hamisi, of the Kenyan village of Merrueshi.

Margaret was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer in 2013. She proudly outlived all expectations by many years, and generously allowed herself to be a case study with the hope that all cancer will someday be eradicated. The family wishes to express special thanks to Dr. John Liao, of UW Medicine for his exceptional and unceasing care of Margaret. He was so important to her last years and she truly felt that he was a blessing on her last, long journey.

Margaret died on July 21, 2025 in Everett, WA. Preceding her in death are her parents, AT Hall and Janet Hall, husband Tom Porro, sister Virginia (Hall) Beard, and niece Angela Beard. Surviving relatives are nieces Michelle Cuykendall (Allan), Rachel Cottingham (Keith), nephews Greg Beard, Mike Beard (Stacy Barmuta), Matt Percival (Tricia), and sister Dorothy Hall. Memorial donations may be made in Margaret’s honor to Maasai Association, POB 868, Medina, WA 98039.