Lois Wilder Hazel

Lois Beatrice (Wilder) Hazel shed her earthly afflictions and was welcomed into the arms of her Lord and Savior early Tuesday morning, July 14, 2015. She had long suffered from Alzheimer’s, auto immune diseases and other illnesses, finally succumbing to pneumonia and congestive heart failure. Her daughter and son were with her during her last hours. She entered into Heaven to join her beloved husband, who preceded her in death in 1974 at the age of 46. Lois was 91 years old. Lois was born to her loving parents, Charles J. and Nola Maggie (Watson) Wilder in the very small farming & ranching community of Thrall located in the south central area of Texas. She was the 7th of 8 children, 6 girls and 2 boys. Although her father died when she was only a child of 2, she grew up surrounded by a very large, loving family of her mother, 7 brothers & sisters, grandparents, aunts & uncles, and cousins. After her father died the family moved to Hunstville, Texas to be nearer to family. Her mother opened a boarding house for young men attending the college across the street from their home (then Sam Houston College for Teachers) Many times there were also family members who boarded with them while they attended college across the street. Lois’ family was poor and the children all had to work hard to help their mother. But Lois always said she never knew they were poor and never felt poor. She was very proud that her mother never accepted public assistance or took money from anyone, she raised her family all on her own. Lois had fond memories of gathering with her family on the front porch in the evenings when the work was done, singing, telling stories and jokes, and making homemade ice cream. Since she was one of the youngest of the 6 sisters, she loved watching her older sisters getting ready for their dates, and there were many, for the pretty and vivacious ‘Wilder girls’ were all considered quite a catch! When her mother closed down the boarding house and went to live with an older daughter, Lois went to live with her brother Fred and his wife Johnnie, in Freeport, Texas, where she finished high school. It was the early 1940’s and war in Europe was looming. Fred enlisted in the US Army and would be shipping out soon, so Lois joined her sisters Frances and Janice and their mother in Austin, Texas. She found a job working for the Federal and State Courts as a Process Clerk. The three sisters, their mother, and two of their friends all lived together and worked while their mother Nola cooked and kept house for them. After work the girls all loved to attend the many USO dances in town. There was a whirlwind of dances and plenty of dance partners due to the military bases nearby at that time, and many a young GI waiting to be shipped off to Europe or the Pacific fell for one of the ‘Wilder girls!’ But there was only one man who finally caught Lois’ eye, and he was Jack Hazel, an engineering student attending the University of Texas in Austin. Their first date was a blind date, arranged for them by friends. They never dated anyone else after that and their courtship was a very short one. They were married at the Central Christian Church in Austin on September 1, 1951. Lois was given away in marriage by her brother Fred. She wore a beautiful luminous pale blue wedding gown that a friend made for her. They ‘barely had two nickels to rub together’ when they started their married life, she used to say! The newlyweds moved into a small apartment after their marriage so that Jack could finish his engineering degree. Lois was the bread winner while Jack attended the University. He graduated in 1952 with a degree in mechanical engineering. It didn’t take long after Jack graduated to land a job working for Shell Oil Company in Pasadena, Texas, south of Houston. They rented a small home on Crescent Avenue, and there, their first child, a daughter, Linda was born. Lois quit her job at Humble Oil Company as an executive secretary and became a full time mother from that point forward. When a second child arrived 6 years later, a son they named Ben, they needed more room so they bought a larger home on Blueberry Street in Pasadena. The next few years were full of many, many gatherings with Lois’ large family, picnics and holidays and birthdays, lots of aunts and uncles along with lots of cousins running around playing in the back yard. Every gathering always had lots of good food, for all the Wilder sisters sure knew how to cook, and always, always, included homemade ice cream, the cousins all taking turns cranking the ice cream maker by hand, more often than not, sneaking a taste before it was ready. In 1962 the family moved to San Diego as Jack was interested in joining the ‘space race.’ He went to work for General Dynamics/Convair and also McDonnell Douglas, where he was excited to be involved with projects such as the space shuttle, the Saturn 5, F-111’s, the DC-10, and the A-4. Lois joined the First Methodist Church where she was very active, also spending much of her time working in her children’s school classrooms and the PTA. She also worked as a volunteer at Sharp Hospital for a while. At various times, the family acquired pets, a rabbit named Mr. Plunkett, a little terrier named Ringo, all brought home by Jack and probably all cared for by Lois! Lois had one sister living in Los Angeles, so the gathering of family for special days continued and she always took her kids with her back to Texas during the summer when school was out to visit the rest of her family. Tragically, in 1974, Lois lost her husband in a car accident. She was completely devastated and for the rest of her life she never looked at another man. Her seven siblings all were there to support her as she came to grips with being a widow and a single parent. Years later she would say that her joy for life returned when her three grandchildren were born. How she adored and loved them!! She enjoyed nothing more than getting down on the floor with them, playing board games or watching movies, never coming to visit them without a Tupperware container full of homemade chocolate chip cookies. She never missed a holiday, their birthday or important school events, as long as she was able. When Lois’ sister Frances retired and moved to Oceanside, Lois wanted to live closer to her so she moved there as well. Lois, Frances, and Frances’ husband Marty Dumelle, spent a lot of time together and vacationed together, often taking trips back to Texas to visit the rest of their family. Frances and Marty were always very helpful to her. They continued to have family gatherings in Oceanside with the three of them and their families. Lois joined the Lighthouse Christian Church in Oceanside. Lois loved her church and she loved her church family. She derived great pleasure being able to come alongside new widows and counsel them through their grieving process, as she so acutely understood what they were going through. A fractured knee cap and the ensuing complications and setbacks, landed Lois in the Vista Knoll Specialized Nursing Facility in Oceanside, California, while she faced a very long recuperation. Her sister, Frances, faithfully visited her every day as long as she was able, and her church family consistently visited her and brought Communion. Lois’ daughter and grandchildren were by then living in Oregon, and visited as often as they could. Her son was still in San Diego and visited as well, often at a moment’s notice, if necessary. When the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s was made and it was determined that she could not return to her home, the decision was made for Lois to remain at Vista Knoll where she was already receiving wonderful care and was close in proximity to her sister, friends, neighbors, and church friends. Throughout it all, Lois remained kind and patient, and kept her spirits up as best she could, always wanting to tell her new friends at Vista Knoll about Jesus. The staff loved her sweet spirit. Lois’ family would like to extend a special acknowledgement and Thank You to the staff who cared for Lois during her long stay at Vista Knoll, especially her nurses Maravek, Agnes, Janet, and many, many others as well. Also, during her last hours, Vitas Hospice was there making Lois as comfortable as possible and for that her family is very grateful. Lois was preceded in death by her husband, Jack Hazel; parents Charles and Nola (Watson) Wilder, her sisters Clarice (Erwin ‘Mutt’) Poe, Mattie B. (George) Campbell, Pauline (Roger) Alexander, and Frances (Marty) Dumelle; brothers J. Barton (Lois), and Fred (Johnnie) Wilder; and brother-in-law Lawrence Smith, Jr. and her cousin Sue (Poe) Present. Lois leaves behind her sister Janice Smith of Texas, many nieces, nephews and friends; also her very special friend, Annette Taylor; son Ben, his wife Nellie and her children, Lewis and Jazmine; daughter Linda, her husband Phil, and their children (Lois’ much loved grandchildren) Jackie, Chelsea, and Mark. Their lives are all richer for having been a part of Lois’ life and the legacy she leaves them of Faith, Love, and the importance of Family. A memorial service to honor Lois’ life was held at El Camino Memorial Park on Carroll Canyon Road in San Diego, Saturday, July 25, 2015 with her closest family in attendance. Interment followed at El Camino Memorial Park.