The Rev. Samuel W. Hale, Jr., died Dec. 7, at Cheshire Medical Center, Keene, NH, He was 72.

Fr. Hale was a native of Wellsville, NY. He was a graduate of Bowdoin College and Yale Divinity School. He was ordained deacon and priest in 1953. He served as assistant at Memorial Church, Baltimore, MD, 1953-56; as rector of St. John's, Athol, MA, 1957-62; as rector of Grace Church, Elmira, NY, 1962-76; as rector of Christ Church, Fitchburg, MA, 1976-81; and as rector of St. James the Fisherman, Islamorada, FL, and chaplain at the Chapel in Ocean Reef, FL, 1981-89. Fr. Hale is survived by his wife, Jessie (Taylor), five sons, William, Daniel, Rufus, Whitney, and Joseph, two daughters, Betsey and Jessie, a brother, the Rev. William M. Hale, and a sister, Margaret H. Kunhardt.