Obituary: Ara May 'Susie' Hall Hubbard

Ara May “Susie” (Hall) Hubbard, 77, a New Iberia native and former New Orleans teacher, died Oct. 7, 2026, in Jacksonville, Florida, after a long battle with dementia.
Susie was born June 1, 1949, in New Iberia, the eldest of five children of James Clifton Hall Jr. and Ara May deGravelles Hall. She was the fourth Ara May in the family, and with three others still living, her dad nicknamed her Susie-Q. Her family called her Susie ever after, though friends from boarding school onward knew her as Ara May.
Though she was 15 years older than her youngest sister, she still made room for her, whether that meant a turn under the hair dryer with her friends home from school or a game of hide-and-seek in the yard.
She finished high school at All Saints’ in Vicksburg, Mississippi, attended Stephens College and Tulane University, and earned her Bachelor of Science in Education from Auburn University in 1973.
She found her calling at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans, where she taught and oversaw the school newspaper. She had friends all over the city, a yellow Lab named Appalachia (Appy for short) and students who still ask about her.
In 1977 she earned a Master of Science in Education from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, specializing in reading, and moved to Aspen, Colorado, where she taught and raised her two children. Her greatest joy was teaching young children with learning disabilities to read. Parents of children who had struggled everywhere else came to thank her in tears. In 1996 she returned to the Des Moines area, where she sought out one of the toughest classrooms in the city’s public schools and taught until she retired in 2015.
Susie was dauntless. She earned a black belt in karate, beating her own instructor along the way, and led Outward Bound expeditions that until then had been led only by men. She was always there for her children and taught them that nothing was too scary or out of reach if you put your head down and got to work. Even a long way from Louisiana, there was a king cake every Mardi Gras, plus one for the kids to take to school. She was the best mom.
For all her grit, Susie had just as much grace, and it showed most through her kindness. She was kind to everyone she met, and one of the greatest lessons she taught her children was to lead with it. She fiercely adored her grandchildren, and they carry on her fearless spirit and determination.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her uncle, Dr. William deGravelles Jr. She is survived by her son, Michael Peter Hubbard II (Lauren); her daughter, Ara May Johnson (James); her grandchildren, Madeleine Elizabeth Hubbard, Michael Bateman Hubbard, Sydney James Johnson and Scarlett deGravelles Johnson; and her siblings, James Clifton Hall III (Wendy), William Bateman Hall (Dianna), Ortte Young (Jeff) and Haifleigh Pritchard (Tommy).
Service details will be announced later. Arrangements are by Hardage-Giddens Oaklawn Chapel, Jacksonville. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or the Des Moines Public Schools Foundation.