Carol Bertha (Moore) Hasselback

Carol (née Moore) Hasselback, July 1, 1945-June 7, 2022, a lifelong local resident, died peacefully after a year-long struggle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center on Tuesday, June 7. She was 76. Born at the family home in Marilla on July 1, 1945, she was the youngest daughter of Robert and Bertha (née Heintz) Moore. She spent her childhood playing among the feedbags and grain of the Agway stores owned and operated by her parents. She attended Iroquois Central High School, graduating in 1963. In high school, she was a cheerleader, an activity that would start the first of many family traditions, as her daughter and two of her granddaughters would also become Iroquois cheerleaders.

Another school tradition she passed down to her children and grandchildren was her involvement in music. She sang in the choir and took to the stage in both lead and supporting roles. This ignited a passion that became a career. She was the first in her family to pursue a college education. In her first class on the first day at SUNY Fredonia, she met her future husband, John P. Hasselback, Sr. The couple wed on January 29, 1966, in the Methodist church in Alden. They went on to raise three children together.

After college, she returned to Marilla with her husband, who took a music teaching position in East Aurora Union Free School District. The couple moved in 1971 to Billington Road in Elma and moved again to Northrup Road in Elma in 2010. Mrs. Hasselback earned a Bachelor of Music from SUNY Fredonia and a Master of Education and a professional certificate in creative studies, both from SUNY Buffalo State College. She spent her career in music education holding teaching positions in school districts around Western New York including Iroquois, East Aurora, Orchard Park, Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart and ultimately retiring after teaching for over 20 years in the Williamsville Central School District at Mill Middle School, where she was the fifth through eighth-grade choir and general music teacher. As a music educator, she was a member of NYSSMA and conducted many all-county choirs during her tenure. She also is remembered for sharing her musical talents by teaching private piano and voice lessons in her home after school for many years. She was an accomplished vocal performer singing jazz standards alongside her husband at various musical venues around western New York. She even performed with the Four Lads. She sang in premier performances at Lincoln Center in college and was part of the Red Stocking Review in East Aurora in the 1970s. In the 1980s, Mrs. Hasselback served the First Baptist Church of East Aurora as choir director alongside her husband who played the organ. She served in the same role years later at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church. More than 15 years ago, after being empowered by winning a writing contest, Mrs. Hasselback picked up a pen and started writing. Tapping into her connection as a great-niece of Alice Moore Hubbard, she wrote “A Life Less Serious” for the East Aurora Advertiser, writing the monthly column on her observations about life and love and giving lessons on living life with a sense of humor. The column title stemmed from an Elbert Hubbard quote: “Don’t take life too seriously; you’ll never make it out alive anyway.” She loved writing her Erma Bombeck-styled column. She was always excited to receive feedback from readers and even found a few new friends among them. In 2019, she added writing a second column, “Cooking Less Serious,” to her repertoire, using the same sense of family, love and humor as the original column. Her Family was extremely important and was always a priority to Mrs. Hasselback. She did not let a holiday go by without gathering everyone to a table full of homemade, started-from-scratch meals. She was thoughtful in the preparations, often starting days in advance to have the perfect tablescape designed to make everyone feel welcomed and loved. Many family traditions were formed in these holiday preparations including setting up an extensive Santa Claus collection every year with her first grandchild. She enjoyed attending musicals, plays, and concerts at various schools to see her children and then her grandchildren perform. She was also known to sit in the stands to watch a football or baseball game in which the kids were participants. Mrs. Hasselback was an active member in the Countryside and the East Aurora Garden clubs. She held various leadership roles in both organizations and served several years as president of the East Aurora Garden Club. She was a member of Aurora Women’s Club and served as treasurer for several years. As an active member of the East Aurora Country Club, Mrs. Hasselback served as president of the associate board. She was also an instrumental part of constructing a comfort station on the back nine. Mrs. Hasselback was well-traveled. In the 1970s, Mr. and Mrs. Hasselback packed up the kids for a summer trip driving cross country taking Route 66 part of the way, stopping in St. Louis to see the Arch, Reno, the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest, and then driving up the coast to San Francisco. The following year the family trekked North into Canada, through Nova Scotia, returning to the USA via Maine. She later enjoyed trips to Florida and Texas to visit family members and took amazing journeys overseas to Ireland, Germany, China and Italy. Mrs. Hasselback found inspiration in the world around her and used her sense of wonder to tap into her artistic talents. She created beautiful watercolors and gave them to family members as gifts, as well as turned them into greeting cards for family and friends for Christmas and other various holidays. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her sister Evelyn (late Ronald) Weider; parents-in-law George and Ethel (née Rauschert) Hasselback of Queens; and stepmother Margaret Roan Moore. She is survived by her husband John; children John (Lisa) Hasselback, Jr., Jane (Jonathan) Sullivan and Matthew (Gretchen Krull) Hasselback; grandchildren Caitlin (Edward Connolly) Hasselback, John P. Hasselback III, Robert Hasselback, Kelsey Sullivan, Maura Sullivan, Catherine Sullivan, Joseph Sullivan and Bianca Hasselback; step-granddaughter Viveca Siebert; sisters Esther (Carl) Kopp and Shirley (Jay) Marshall; brother-in-law George Hasselback; many nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews; and many good friends.

Wood Funeral Home, 784 Main St. in East Aurora was trusted with arrangements. The Hasselback Family will be present on Sunday, June 12 from 2 to 6 p.m. and Monday, June 13 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home. A Celebration of Life will be offered on Tuesday, June 14, at 10 a.m., at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, Main Street in East Aurora. Burial will be in Marilla Cemetery on Two Rod Road. In lieu of flowers, the Hasselback family requests you support others who survive on blood donations by donating to the blood donation center of your choice. Monetary donations if desired may be made to the East Aurora Garden Club scholarship fund by mailing to the East Aurora Garden Club care of Joyce Trudel, 710 Ostrander Road, East Aurora, NY, 14052.