John Michael Hall

July 25, 1956 - Nov. 30, 2018 Resident of San Jose

John Michael Hall, 62, of San Jose, passed away at his home on November 30, 2018 from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. John Michael was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to John Haslet Hall and Mary Anne (Whaley) Hall. He grew up in Saratoga and graduated from Saratoga High School in 1974.

John Michael’s semiconductor industry career began in the 1970s, when he was still in his teens and employed in the fabrication operations of Micro Power Systems, a company established by his father, John H Hall. Working in Silicon Valley and later in Japan, John Michael learned and then taught others techniques needed to produce world-class semiconductors.

In 1987, John Michael co-founded Linear Systems with John H. Hall and others from Micro Power Systems. Working out of living rooms and garages, on a shoestring budget, John Michael worked days, nights and weekends to establish the new company as a top developer and producer of precision semiconductors.

John Michael was a history buff and an outdoorsman, taking road trips to Alaska, Colorado, South Dakota and throughout the Western US with his wife and sons. He was a keen follower of politics and enjoyed working on cars, watching old movies and westerns. Whenever possible, he was in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, fishing, hiking, four wheeling and exploring.

John Michael was married to his high school sweetheart, Sondra Ebenhahn Hall for 33 years and was a devoted father to Michael (Aida) Hall and William (Michaela) Hall. John Michael’s sister, Jennifer and her husband, Jesse, and their daughter, Sloan, were frequent visitors and brought much joy to his life.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the ALS Association, Golden West Chapter www.alsagoldenwest.org