Lasting Memories

Margaret Hall Corazza
Sept. 11, 1919-March 26, 2011
Palo Alto, California
Submitted by Paul Corazza

Margaret Hall Corazza of Palo Alto passed away in her sleep in the early morning of March 26, 2011. She was 91.

Born Sept. 11, 1919, she was born and raised in Cambridge, Mass., the only child of Harvard Law Professor Murray F. Hall and wife Dorothy.

Margaret graduated from Endicott College, Massachusetts, and after becoming an RN began a career as a full-time nurse in Denver, CO, and then later in San Francisco, CA. where she married her husband, Frank Corazza.

She gave birth to her only child, Paul Corazza, in 1954 and after his birth became a full-time mother. After her husband?s passing in 1967, she returned to the medical field, this time as a secretarial nurse for doctors with private practices.

In the 1960s, Margaret took an interest in adopting a healthy lifestyle for herself and her son; she studied the work of nutritionists and began a regular practice of Yoga. Shortly afterwards, she took a deep interest in inner spiritual work, studying the work of Edgar Cayce and a variety of teachers from the Vedic tradition in India. Eventually, she joined Self-Realization Fellowship, founded by Paramahansa Yogananda. In the 1970s, she took up the meditation practice offered by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi ? Transcendental Meditation ? which would sustain her for the rest of her life.

In her 70s, she re-connected with a Denver-based doctor and mycologist, Sam Mitchell, whom she had known from her early days as a nurse. They were able to share a happy life together for six years, until his passing in 1993.

After her retirement, Margaret worked as a volunteer for the Cardiology Department at Stanford Medical Center and also at Ananda, an offshoot of the original Self-Realization Fellowship, founded by Kriyananda, a disciple of Yogananda. Margaret not only generously offered her time in her volunteer work, but also generously supported her son?s educational and career ambitions, and helped a number of people in need throughout her lifetime.

What gave Margaret satisfaction in her life was to be of service ? at work, as a wife and mother, as a volunteer, and in other less obvious ways. The many who knew her in this capacity, in one area of life or another, always spoke highly of her kindness, diligence, and dedication.

Margaret is survived by her son Paul and his wife Cristina, and by her two grandchildren Michael and Christine Corazza.