MARBLEHEAD -- Priscilla Bohlin Hall died Tuesday, Dec. 7, after a long battle with lung disease. She was 88.


A top Realtor for decades, she was one of the first brokers hired by Richard Carlson Real Estate about 1970 and quickly became one of his best salespeople, selling more than $1 million a year when homes cost about $30,000 apiece.


"She said she wanted to make money," Carlson recalled. "I was a little taken aback" but liked her directness and hired her instead of a well-connected local, he said. As a newcomer, she had no "sphere of influence" but built her own by handling rentals, which no one else wanted, he said. "She was a model for others and proved that this worked."

The relationships Priscilla formed in real estate often created lifelong friendships, many of them with people decades younger than herself.


"We had a lot of intellectual exchanges and political battles," recalled Barbara Worthen. "She'd send me emails. She was a buddy girl. Age wasn't relevant."


After she sold them a house, Priscilla "was just part of our lives," added Ann Shore. "She was so honest. She told things as they were. And she paid attention to the kids."


Real estate was always top of mind. On a ferry trip to Vinalhaven, Shore overheard hear her counting and laughed when she realized Priscilla was adding up the value of the passing houses.


"Priscilla wasn't afraid to knock on the door and ask if the owner wanted to sell," Shore added. "People responded. She wasn't threatening."

"It's the end of an era," said Audrey Connolly. "I loved everything about her. She cared. She trusted us. And she'd wear real jewels with dime-store necklaces as long as the colors matched."


Dixie Powers said she will miss Priscilla's generosity and sense of humor, recalling how, years later, Priscilla confessed that the receptionist who recommended Priscilla as a broker was Priscilla herself.
"She started laughing," Powers said. "The joke was on me."
Priscilla also was a sharp dresser, often making capes and suits herself. Hot pink was her signature color and her shoe collection was legendary. She taught her young niece, Debby Hall, how to sew and gave her scraps to make doll clothes.


She adored her two daughters.


The wife of the late Frederick G. Hall II, she is survived by daughters Pamela Macy Hall Derringer and her husband, George Derringer and Julie Carter Hall Livingston and her husband William H. Livingston III, all of Marblehead; a sister, Virginia Bohlin Dorman of Boxford, and several nieces and nephews.

She is predeceased by her parents, Edythe C. and Allan H. Bohlin, and a brother, Allan J. Bohlin,


A celebration of her life will be held 2 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 16, at Boston Yacht Club 1 Front St, Marblehead, MA.

Memorial donations may be made to the Meeting House Hill Project, which preserves the Scituate cultural blossoming of the late 19th and early 20th century, including Josephine Lewis, painter of many Hall family portraits, c/o Marblehead Bank, 21 Atlantic Ave., Marblehead 01945.

For online guest book or additional information please contact the Murphy Funeral Home, www.murphyfuneralhome.com , 85 Federal St Salem 781 631 8885 or visit www.MurphyFuneralHome.com