Hallie Lynn Hein

Hallie Lynn Hein was born on April 16, 2003 in East Ridge, Tennessee, and passed away on April 7, 2023 at St. Mary’s Hospice House in Watkinsville, GA.  While born in Tennessee, Hallie spent the majority of her life in the state of Georgia. She was born with a strong, resilient spirit and overcame much in her short life.  Hallie joined the “Hein” family at the age of eight.   Although physically separated from her sisters, she spoke of them often and was able to go to “Camp to Belong” for several summers with her two younger siblings who also remained in Georgia.

Hallie could be extremely helpful and thoughtful.  On her many trips with family to the beach, she was the first one to gather belongings and to remember sunscreen and towels for everyone.  She was a natural organizer of other people’s space, and the kitchen pantry was never more orderly than when she offered to do it.

Hallie had a competitive streak, causing her to fit in well with the rest of the family!  She excelled at playing Mancala, Yahtzee, and Uno. She could look at a 350-piece puzzle and place a piece correctly on the first try.  Hallie was naturally a good speller and enjoyed Scrabble as well.

Hallie shone at rote memorization.  In elementary school, she was the first student in her class to memorize multiplication tables.  Hallie never forgot the name of the most distant acquaintance, and remembered the birthdays of other people better than her mother!  She was a literal thinker, and idioms and metaphors sometimes escaped her.  If people said it was “raining cats and dogs,” she would look up at the sky and correct them.  Once, a teacher was explaining how same words could have different meanings.  Hallie became confused about the sentence “I adopted a new idea.”  Hallie said that she thought “adopted” meant “wanted.”

In late 2017, Hallie was involved in a catastrophic car wreck, sustaining a Traumatic Brain Injury.  The TBI resulted in her having spastic quadriplegia and left her non-verbal.  However, her receptive language remained mostly intact, and she never stopped expressing herself with her beautiful green eyes.  She scowled when people pronounced her name incorrectly and rolled her eyes when she was exasperated.    Even when people thought Hallie was not listening, she was. Her “belly laugh” and infectious smile were particularly evident if the people around her were having an “adult” conversation.  Music was especially therapeutic for Hallie both before and after the car wreck, and it was a great motivator when doing physical and occupational therapy.  Hallie continued to be a fighter until the very end of her life. Her family takes solace in the fact that her broken body and mind will now be ultimately healed.

Hallie is survived by her mother, Helen Walton Hein; sisters Breanna Renee Polhamus, Kayde McKenzie Muse, and Carlie Madison Muse; grandmother Elizabeth Law Hein; grandfather Fredrick “Fred” Wilson Hein; uncle F. Wilson Hein Jr. and aunt Ruth Dooly Hein; aunt Nicole Hein Chadwell. Cousins:  Henry, Walton, and Emma Hein; Mary Catherine and Hamilton Chadwell.  Hallie is also survived by many great-aunts and uncles, as well as cousins. Special caregivers:  Kaylee Diers and Lynn Tate.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held on May 6, 2023 at 2 pm in the chapel of First Baptist Church in Gainesville, followed by visitation with the family in the church parlor.  In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Camp To Belong-Georgia, or St. Mary’s Hospice House.