Known for her outrageous sense of humor, Natalie Hall ("Lally") Webb often quipped "When I die, I am going straight to hell, but the Devil doesn't want me yet!" She died peacefully at Christian Healthcare Center on July 12, 2024 with her daughter in attendance.Lally was born on May 12, 1936 to Mary Farrand Hall and J. Kenneth Hall, a stockbroker. She grew up in Manhattan, attending the Brearly School, Miss Porter's School, and Smith College. After graduating from Smith, her father complained "I have spent a fortune on your education and you haven't learned a damn thing!" She then went to the Harvard-Radcliffe Program in Business Administration.
Following graduation from Radcliffe, she married Jean Francis Webb IV and had three children, Martha (Muffie), Kenneth (Kip), and Stewart (Tad). The family settled in Brooklyn Heights in November 1963, where Lally lived until 2019. Her marriage ended in divorce.
While the children were young, Lally busied herself with volunteer work for the Junior League and for the Brooklyn Women's Exchange. As the children went off to high school and college, Lally started a long career at J&W Seligman, a US investment bank, from which she retired in the late 1990s.
In the second half of her life, Lally made the most of life in New York City. She was an ardent supporter of the performing arts, subscribing to the Metropolitan Opera, attending Broadway shows as soon as they opened and traveling to the Glimmerglass Festival for the summer opera season. She was also a great lover of fine dining, frequently observing that "Some people eat to live. I live to eat!"
Belying her quip about the Devil, Lally was an active church-goer and prayed everyday. For over 35 years, she was a member of Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims, singing in the choir and hosting the annual Christmas party at her home. In her later years, she became an Episcopalian and joined Grace Church of Brooklyn Heights.
Lally is survived by her daughter, Martha Vernon, of Hawthorne, NJ and son, Kip, of San Francisco, CA. She was preceded in death by her son, Tad. She is also survived by six loving grandchildren and one great-grandchild. All will miss her love of life, her penchant for salty language, and her hilarious storytelling.
A celebration of her life is planned for this Fall at Grace Church.