OBITUARY

Wissahickon grad, Gwnyedd Mercy College VP Hale "Sonny" T. Peffall Jr. passed away Tuesday

Ambler resident served his community in numerous ways

(Credit: Ben White / Unsplash.com)

Ambler resident served his community in numerous ways

  • Community

A Wissahickon High School graduate and former vice president of Gwynedd Mercy College (now known as Gwynedd Mercy University) has sadly passed away after many years of serving his community.

Hale “Sonny” T. Peffall, Jr. passed away on July 23, surrounded by family at the age of 74, according to his online obituary. He was a Class of 1967 alumni of Wissahickon High School, going on afterward to get a bachelor’s degree from Philadelphia College of Textiles and Sciences, now known as Thomas Jefferson University. He also served in the United States Army from 1969 to 1975 during the Vietnam War.

Peffal served in a variety of administrative roles over the course of his career, including an assistant director of admissions and student affairs and other roles at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) before becoming Vice President of Gwynedd Mercy College. Peffall later moved on to become the vice president of Institutional Advancement at The Center for Autism.

Peffall was survived by his wife of 41 years, Gloria E. (nee Green) Peffall of Ambler, as well as two children, Ashley E. Kosh and her husband Brian, of North Wales, and Hale T. Peffall, III, known as “Tommy,” and his wife Andrea, of East Norriton. He also left behind five grandchildren, Tyler, Connor, Carter, Rylee, and Hale Peffall IV.

According to the obituary, “relatives and friends are invited to call” from 6 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, July 28, at the Anton B. Urban Funeral Home, 1111 S. Bethlehem Pike Ambler, and again after 9 a.m. on Monday, July 29, 2024, at the St. Anthony of Padua Church, 259 Forest Ave. in Ambler.

The family will share Words of Remembrance at 10:15 a.m. on Monday, July 29, followed by Hale’s Funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. with Msgr. Stephen P. McHenry as celebrant. The interment will be private.

Memorial donations can be made in Hale's memory to the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House, located at 3925 Chestnut St., in Philadelphia, PA 19104, or online at https://www.rmhcphilly.org/donate/.


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Melissa S. Finley

Melissa is a 26-year veteran journalist who has worked for a wide variety of publications over her enjoyable career. A summa cum laude graduate of Penn State University’s College of Communications with a degree in journalism, Finley is a single mother to two teens, Seamus and Ash, her chi The Mighty Quinn, and the family’s two cats, Archimedes and Stinky. She enjoys bringing news to readers far and wide.