The Power of faith, family and optimism: Herriman family meets adversity—and cancer—head on
Apr 22, 2025 12:40PM ● By Elisa Eames
“When he called me to set up my appointment… he told me it was 30 minutes before the actual appointment started,” Beth said with a smile. “He did this on purpose to have time to talk with me while I waited.”
Beth and Jojo Hall run in the 2022 Fort Herriman Days 5k race. (Photo courtesy Bethany Hall)
Married for 22 years, the couple moved to Herriman 14 years ago. “We love the family-oriented community and the wonderful people here!” Beth Hall said.
At home, church or on stage, music is an integral part of life for Tim, Beth and their five children. “One of our favorite things to do as a family is to sing together… around the house and at church and perform in musical productions together,” Beth Hall said.
“A highlight in our family memories was the musical, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” with Herriman Arts in 2019,” Beth Hall said. “I played the role of the narrator, Tim was Potiphar and Issachar, and four of our kids were also in the show.” Their youngest, little three-year-old Jojo, cheered them on at each rehearsal and performance.
A 5-year old's strength
A close-knit family, the strength of their relationships has helped them weather a series of storms that began in 2021 when Jojo was diagnosed with Perthes disease, a rare hip disorder resulting from a disruption of blood flow to the top of the femur. With no access to blood, the bone stops growing and dies.
Jojo Hall shows off her leg braces after surgery. (Photo courtesy Bethany Hall)
“She was just 5 years old when the blood supply spontaneously stopped…” Beth Hall said. The Halls found a specialist in Texas, and the family has made the trek there several times a year since 2021.
Over the last four years, Tim and Beth Hall have watched their daughter face heartbreaking challenges. Jojo was not able to put weight on her leg for two years, relying on crutches or a wheelchair. Now in fourth grade, she has endured multiple surgeries, daily physical therapy since the diagnosis, and the restriction and frustration of wearing a brace to immobilize her leg 18 hours a day.
“But this didn’t stop her from living life and being happy,” Beth Hall said. With her crutches, Jojo made her stage debut in the children’s production of “Frozen” through Herriman Arts in 2022. “She got really good at running and playing with her crutches,” Beth Hall said. “She even jumped waves in the ocean on a family vacation while on crutches. Nothing stopped her!”
In March, Jojo shared her experiences on a podcast and spoke to BYU nursing students. “I wished so many times I could take away the difficulties… so my Jojo wouldn’t have to suffer… But watching her… share all that she’s learned and how she’s grown, I wouldn’t take that away from her for anything,” Beth Hall said.
A teenager’s perseverance
Amid the ongoing storm surrounding Jojo’s condition, another tempest broke in 2023. During a high school cross country race, oldest child Ethan, then a senior, broke his femoral neck, the region of his femur connecting the ball of the hip joint to the shaft.
Collapsing in the middle of the state qualifying race, Ethan’s dreams suddenly evaporated. Tim and Beth Hall stood by as their son was carried in severe pain from the course, packed into an ambulance and rushed to the hospital.
Mere hours after emergency surgery, an interview via Zoom from his hospital bed won Ethan the title of Mountain Ridge High’s Sterling Scholar in math. And just three weeks later, he defied his circumstances by performing as a lead in Mountain Ridge’s musical—on crutches. “He had to be on crutches or a wheelchair for the next four months,” Beth Hall explained. “He worked incredibly hard to get his strength back…, and he ran in the last couple of track meets of his senior year.”
The other Hall children have experienced their own injuries, including several broken arms and ankles requiring surgery. “What has helped us get through is not focusing on our bad luck or the difficulties. We just take things as they come and work together as a family to get through them,” Beth Hall said.
The greatest storm of all
On Jan. 12 of last year, the winds of the most difficult storm the Halls have ever faced began stirring when Tim Hall noticed he could barely use the fingers on his right hand. Shortly thereafter, his speech deteriorated. Though he knew what he wanted to say, he was physically unable to speak. As he tried to communicate with Beth Hall, he managed one word: “stroke.”
“I quickly got him into the car and drove him to the emergency room,” Beth Hall said. At the hospital, the winds of the brewing storm abruptly intensified: CT scans and MRIs revealed that Tim had a brain tumor the size of a racquetball. The family clung to the chance that it was benign. Though they had expected to take 75%, surgeons removed only 50% of the tumor, as much as was possible without impacting fine motor skills, speech, and Hall's entire right side.
“I was just so grateful that he was alive and came out of the brain surgery as himself,” Beth Hall said. “I will never forget… he asked how much of the tumor they removed. I had already cried by myself over the fact that only 50% was removed, but in true Tim fashion, he saw the good in everything and immediately replied, ‘That’s better than 49%!’”
It was after the surgery that the looming storm finally hit—a category 5 hurricane: Hall's tumor was cancerous. The diagnosis was Grade 3 oligodendroglioma, a rare, fast-growing cancer, accounting for under 1% of brain tumors. Tim Hall was given 10 to 15 years to live. The shock and grief crashed down on the family like a tsunami.
“But truly, we knew the recipe for getting through hard things. We had done that before as a family,” Beth Hall said. The Halls continue to believe that no matter the storm, there will always be positive things and blessings. “We move forward with God’s help, even if it’s one day or one minute at a time,” she said.
Tim Hall recovers after surgeons removed 50% of his tumor. (Photo courtesy Bethany Hall)
Doctors prescribed 30 rounds of radiation and six rounds of chemotherapy, each six weeks long.
“Tim has been an amazing warrior!” Beth Hall said. Over the next 15 months, he endured severe fatigue and loss of appetite, memory and hair. All food tasted awful, and he experienced a constant metallic taste in his mouth.
By the end of all the treatments, he had lost 60 pounds. “To say that the last 15 months… have been hard would be a huge understatement!” Beth said. The Halls are tremendously grateful for the invaluable help of friends and extended family who took children to and from school and activities, cooked meals, provided emotional support, offered prayers and more.
Since the diagnosis, Tim Hall has continued to work full-time in project management and sales, serve at church, and be the best father he can, attending his children’s events and activities, including serving as a swim official at their second son’s five-hour swim meets. Every day of his 45-day radiation regimen, he ran three miles. “Tim tried extremely hard to stay upbeat and positive with the kids, even though the medications caused increased irritability and fatigue,” Beth Hall said. “The kids and I saw his loving efforts.”
The miracle of looking outward
Service and involvement in their community and church are very important to the Halls, and it has helped them stay afloat among the wind and waves. “Volunteer work and helping others is a big part of our family culture,” Beth Hall said.
Ethan has served on the state youth council board and is currently in Bolivia on a religious mission. Eli, the Hall’s second, is on the Herriman Youth Council and participates in choir, musical theater and his school swim team.
Next comes Ellyse, who is on her school dance team, serves on the Herriman Youth Council, and loves choir, theater and cross country. Fourth is Sami, who plays the piano, sings, dances and is learning how to perform with aerial silks. And finally, when Jojo isn’t singing, dancing or acting, she plays soccer.
Tim and Beth Hall have both found fulfillment in working with church youth groups and other volunteering. A former board member for nonprofit Friends Of Herriman, Beth also served on the Herriman Arts Council for 13 years, was the children’s theater specialist for the Herriman Arts Council for 12 years, has taught voice lessons for 20 years and writes and composes her own songs.
Recently, she cofounded nonprofit South Valley Performing Arts, which provides local arts opportunities, and Rising Stars Theater Academy, where she teaches youth and teen musical theater classes.
Not to be outdone by his family, three years ago, Tim created “The Hall Scholarships,” which the Halls award annually to select Mountain Ridge seniors for choral singing, swimming, and cross country racing. “We wanted to give back in a small way to kids participating in programs that mean a lot to us…” Beth Hall said.
The Halls enjoy a family hike at Arches National Park. From left to right: Ellyse (above), Beth, Eli, Tim (above), Jojo and Sami. (Photo courtesy Bethany Hall)
Being open and honest about the diagnosis has also helped their children cope. They provide a safe space for the children to feel, acknowledge and process emotions. “They know that sometimes mom stays in her car a long time crying... I say, ‘I was feeling some emotions and getting some things out, but I’m doing better now,’” Beth Hall said.
Instead of focusing on their challenges, the Halls concentrate on helping others while enjoying and being fully present during every minute together. “I don’t want worrying about the future to ruin the joy of having Tim present here now," Beth Hall said.
They rally around members who need help. To support Jojo with the exhausting demands of daily physical therapy, the family participated in the exercises with her.
When big brother Ethan broke his femoral neck, Jojo showed him how to navigate the ground and floors on crutches. And as their father struggled with treatment, the children offered extra help and support.
Hope for the future
“Our family motto has been ‘we just modify,’” Beth Hall said. “We just modify how we do things and continue doing our best to make memories and spend time together in fun ways.” In addition to performing in musicals, the Halls enjoy hiking, visiting national parks, road trips and running races together—even with crutches or a wheelchair.
The family has also found peace and hope through each other and their faith. “The most difficult part is watching someone I love so dearly go through something so hard,” Beth Hall said. “But it has made me grateful for my faith and the eternal perspective that this life is not the end. And one of the purposes of this life is to learn and grow through good and hard things. We just feel incredibly blessed to have each other as we manage whatever hard thing life gives us.”
“The most challenging aspect of this diagnosis is facing the reality that life will potentially end before I want it to,” Tim Hall said. “But I am grateful for even better relationships with my family and loved ones and with God and Jesus.”
Going forward, Tim Hall will need an MRI every three months to monitor the tumor. The family is investigating holistic treatments to stop the tumor’s growth. “We are doing a lot of our own research,” Beth Hall said. “It’s also difficult because none of the treatments we’re looking into are covered by insurance… But we are willing to do whatever it takes to give Tim more time with us. We just keep trying to do things that bring us joy with the people that we love most.”
