Dominic Zdan

Sophomore Zaisha Ipac reads the two-page dedication to Shirley Hall in the yearbook. It appeared on page 222-223.

“I’ve never met someone who has taken on more things and done them so successfully,” junior Eleanor Strader said.

Shirley Hall took on any project that came her way. After her death, the amount of work and the value she brought to Ocean Lakes really came into perspective. 

Born in Coldwater, Ohio, in 1979, she later attended Indiana State University before becoming the Ocean Lakes Latin teacher in 2004. She lived in Ahoskie, NC, taking an hour and a half drive to Ocean Lakes every day. 

She died at the age of 45 due to bone metastasis.

Students remember her for her kind demeanor, boundless patience and overwhelming dedication.

“She never got mad once,” sophomore and Latin Club vice president Gopi Konkepudi said. “If I was in her position I would have definitely snapped. Knowing all the work she put in makes me feel kind of guilty for not taking it all more seriously.”

She led six clubs, including Dolphin Dash, Latin Club and D&D Club, and volunteered for many others.  

“If someone needed or asked for something she would, without a doubt, volunteer herself to do it,” Eleanor said. “Whether or not she had the time to do it, she did it, because she cared so much about everyone.”

She led Dolphin Dash, a club that puts on an annual charity run, for the twenty years she spent at Ocean Lakes.

“Ms. Hall was basically the entire Dolphin Dash,” sophomore Henry Yu said. “To honor her legacy we will be renaming the race to the Shirley Hall Dolphin Dash 5K.”

As the number of Latin teachers in the district declined, she taught students from other schools over Zoom as a distance learning teacher. She also organized promotional events for Latin at middle schools, encouraging students to study Latin in high school. 

Her death opens up new questions about the future of Latin in Virginia Beach.

“The Latin community is going to take a pretty big hit,” Gopi said. “She was the one who was really pulling it all together. Now students have a big responsibility to carry on Latin and keep it remembered.”

A celebration of life ceremony occurred on May 24, 2025 at Ocean Lakes. A tree in front of the school has been planted in her honor, the language hallway will be renamed after her, and she received a two page dedication in the yearbook.

In the students she taught and institutions she founded and led, Shirley Hall will never be forgotten.