Hal Don Sears

Hal Don Sears was born the youngest of three children on Turkey Mountain, near Clarksville Arkansas in 1942. His parents, Lowry and Evelyn (Jones) Sears, were farmers. His has two sisters, Rochelle and Phyllis, both still living. He joined the Marines in 1960 and played French horn in the Marine Band until 1964. After completing his service with the Marines, he attended the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where he met and married his wife Davida. They moved to St. Louis in 1966 where he achieved his degree in History from the University of Missouri at St. Louis. In 1969, he was awarded a Danforth Fellowship and moved to California to study at Stanford University. After settling in Santa Cruz with Davida, Hal expanded his interests in natural medicine, herbs and wild-crafting. In 1977, Hal, Davida and their daughter, Laurel, moved to Lawrence, KS. He joined the Community Mercantile Co-Op in 1982, where he became their vitamin and herbal supplements specialist until his retirement in 2005.
Throughout his life, Hal was a writer. His works included The Sex Radicals: Free Love in the High Victorian Era, articles on herbalism, sports history, Dr. W.A. Quayle (founder of Baker University) and C.G. Jung. Lately, he was working on stories of his childhood in Arkansas. Hal was an avid reader and studied intellectuals and their writings until the end of his life. He was a devoted member of St. John’s Church, and loved to study and read the Bible and church history.
He has two daughters, Laurel Birdsong Sears and Saida Cora Bonifield. He is grandfather to Mercury Faye and Greer Posey. In the last few months of his life, he ran around joyously with his granddaughter Mercury, helped with a newspaper article on Elderberries, kept up the Adoration at St. John’s church and, from time to time, enjoyed a cold Free State beer. A funeral service will be held at St. John’s Catholic Church on Friday June 18th at 10:00 a.m. A memorial service will be held at a later date to celebrate his life and his many contributions to life in Lawrence.