Earl ‘Petey’ Hull
- Published: July 25, 2024
Villager Earl “Petey” Hull, 83, passed away peacefully July 1, 2024, at Ohio Hospice of Dayton after a gradual decline.
Raised by parents Earl L. Hull Sr. and Christina Corbett Hull, along with younger brother, Paul, Petey excelled in a wide range of sports. Following his father’s footsteps at Bryan High School, he played basketball and baseball and ran track — he was recently inducted into the Yellow Springs High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Activities outside of school were swimming, horseback riding, soccer with Antioch College students and under his father’s tutelage, boxing, sparring with brother Paul. His love for sports led him after 1959 graduation to get a degree at Central State University in health, physical education and recreation.
He and his wife, Ethel “Essie” Irwin Hull, moved to Chicago for her graduate studies after Antioch and his work, first at the Wabash YMCA, then at the prestigious Michael Reese Psychosomatic and Psychiatric Institute.
His deep love for the blues of Lightnin’ Hopkins and John Lee Hooker intensified when he took on a night job guarding equipment for blues club stars Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters.
The couple moved to New Hampshire in 1969, and Petey turned to his gift for masonry (learned from his father), working with both brick and field stones. In his research at a local library, he discovered a Frenchman’s design of a highly heat-efficient fireplace. Specializing in this as well as repair of chimneys brought him a successful business. Later, he returned to his original career by working with the most difficult clients for Lutheran Social Services.
He coached his son in high school sports, which led all the way to the Nationals held in San Francisco, California. He also played both harmonica and guitar with his good friend Arthur Clark’s blues band in the club scene in the Concord, New Hampshire, area.
In 2006, after a Bryan High School reunion, Petey reunited with his second high school girlfriend, Anne Johnston, recently returned from the Bay Area. They were amazed to discover that while he was enjoying the Chicago bluesmen, Anne was following the previous generation of country bluesmen who had comeback careers thanks to the folk music boom of the 1960s and ’70s. Petey was also surprised to learn Anne had been a full-time musician (vocalist, guitarist and songwriter) for 10 years. On her first band’s recording in 1969 for Vanguard Records, she had written and sung a love ballad about Petey, called “Stop My Heart with Joy.”
In 2008, Petey and Anne moved back to Yellow Springs from New Hampshire so that Petey could care for his father. They enjoyed their retirement years, listening to their vast collection of blues music and spending time with treasured family and old friends, especially with niece Robin Hull. Petey’s great sense of humor and even greater laughter lasted his whole lifetime.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Paul. Left to cherish his memory are daughters Kimberly Hull, of New Mexico, and Jen Satterfield, of British Columbia, Canada; son Jonathan Hull, of Connecticut; daughter-in-law Amanda Hull, of Connecticut; former wife Ethel “Essie” Hull, of New Hampshire; lifelong friend Kirsten “Ki Ki” Eng Provost, of New Hampshire; and companion Anne Johnston; along with three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
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