David Hall, Caretaker Of Quogue’s White Horse, Dead At 77

David Hall, a retired Wall Street attorney best known as the keeper of the famous White Horse that stands guard on the corner of Montauk Highway and Quogue-Riverhead Road in Quogue Village, died in his sleep on May 13, according to his family. He was 77.Mr. Hall, who bought the property in 1983, had been the caretaker of the statue for the past three decades and even named his antiques shop, since closed, after the iconic horse that has been on his property, in one form or another, for the past 60-plus years.

Originally constructed of wood and plaster, the horse was replaced with a bronze version by Mr. Hall in 2000. That version, however, was stolen by vandals in late 2004 and recovered later that winter, though it had been damaged. Members of the Quogue Police Benevolent Association assisted Mr. Hall in fixing the horse, and the current version, which was unveiled in January 2010, is constructed from metal.

“I think that was his way of making it last forever,” his daughter, Christianne Lind of Minnesota, said this week.

She explained that her father opened his antiques shop, White Horse Antiques, shortly after buying the house and held his last auction in 2000. “Every single thing in that house is a piece of him,” Ms. Lind said. “White Horse Antiques was his heart and soul.”

Mr. Hall served in the U.S. Army from 1955 until 1958, achieving the rank of sergeant before being honorably discharged, according to his daughter. After exiting the service, he graduated from Columbia Law School in 1965 and spent the next 20 years as an attorney on Wall Street, first for George C. Demas, his father-in-law at the time. The two later founded Demas and Hall, which specialized in corporate takeovers.

Mr. Hall made Quogue his home in 1980, after spending summers and weekends there in the years leading up to his retirement. Ms. Lind explained that her father and mother, Christine Rudd, bought the home with the intention of restoring it as an antiques shop, which they did. The couple later divorced.

Outside of work and collecting antiques, Mr. Hall was described by relatives as a genuine family man, whose quirks and stories could capture an audience.

“He was a funny guy,” said his son Ransom “Fletcher” Hall, who lives in Manhattan. “He could really raise a room.”

He added that he has been overwhelmed by all of the friends who have reached out to him since his father’s death. He explained that many of his childhood friends have told him that his late father was also a father figure to them.

Ransom Hall also noted that his father took it upon himself to guide lost tourists and summer visitors through the busy village intersection. “He was good like that,” the younger Mr. Hall said. “He tried to impress upon us the importance of friendship, love and community.”

Ronnie Campsey, owner of the New Moon Cafe in East Quogue, said he was friends with Mr. Hall for 37 years. “He was a lover of life,” Mr. Campsey added.

He said he can still recall the smile on Mr. Hall’s face when he tied a scarf around his neck and drove his white 1960 Morris Garages Roadster. The car, Mr. Campsey said, was in pieces when Mr. Hall discovered it in a garage and later refurbished it. His son now owns it.

Mr. Lind is survived by his daughter, Christianne Lind, her husband, Eric, and their three children, 7-year-old Kai, 4-year-old Elliot, and Xavier David, who will turn 2 in July. In addition to his son Ransom “Fletcher” Hall, Mr. Hall is also survived by a second son, Carl Gunnar Gillberg of New York City. Additionally, he is survived by Ms. Rudd, who now lives in France, and his first wife, Carole Demas, of New York City.

Mr. Hall did not want any formal funeral arrangements, Ms. Lind said, so her father will be cremated and his ashes scattered over both the Long Island Sound and Mount Ascutney in Mr. Hall’s birthplace of Windsor, Vermont. A private celebration for his friends and family will be held in June at his home.