I included this in condolence cards I sent to Hazel's children, Shirley and Bill:


I wanted to take the time to put a few thoughts together about your wonderful mother.  The fact that she’s gone is hard to comprehend, and she will be very much missed.  She was a sweet and steadfast person in my life for the last 44 years.  Where did the time go?  How did it fly by so fast?  I just don’t know.

I clearly remember the very first time I met your mom in 1966. I was eleven years old and Dad and your mom were living in an apartment on (I believe) Campbell Drive in Phoenix.   The four of us kids went to the apartment to have Sunday dinner.   Dad had remarried very quickly after his divorce; my siblings and I were upset that he had remarried so soon.  But then we hadn’t met your mom, and when we did, most of the anxieties went away instantly.  I’ll never forget the big smile on your mom’s face when she said hello and hugged me for the first time.  In those days she wore her hair down in kind of a shoulder-length pageboy.   As always, her hair, makeup and fingernails were impeccably done.  I couldn’t believe how much food she cooked for us on the day we first met--and I was amazed by those wonderful homemade pies.

I was really happy when Dad and your mom finally settled in their home at 1122 E Fremont Drive in Tempe; I believe that was in 1968.  Once they were there we could visit more often.   I can’t count all the wonderful Sunday and holiday dinners we had with them.  The menu was always fantastic—beef, ham, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, and those wonderful pies.   I think those types of occasions were when Dad and your mom were happiest—surrounded by family with good food and conversation.

One of the things Dad and your mom really enjoyed together was going to church and being in the church choir.   Every Easter and Christmas there was always a special music program they were in.  Going to these musical programs each year was a very happy tradition for me.   

When Dad was sick and dying, your mom did everything humanly possible to take care of him at home.  I took Friday afternoons off every week to give her a break.  During those times she would go get her hair and nails done and go to the grocery store.  I think those Friday afternoons were the only real breaks she ever got.  Yet she never complained about her situation, never pitied herself.   She was glad to take care of her husband.

When Dad moved into the nursing home she was with him every day, all day.  She didn’t have to do that, but she did.  She wanted to be by his side.  I know her presence was very comforting to him.  During that last year of Dad’s life I continued taking Friday afternoons off, but  your mom and I started a new tradition of  going to lunch every Friday to have the fish basket at JB’s.   Each Friday  I would ask your mom where she’d like to go for lunch, and her answer was always the same—“Let’s go to J.B.’s and have the fish basket.”  :0)   After our lunch she’d get her hair done and go grocery shopping.  Our Friday get-togethers continued after Dad died, and we never missed a Friday unless your mom was in the hospital.

I’m glad your mom got to spend the last few years of her life in Texas.  After three years of living alone in Tempe, she was getting depressed, isolated, and her health problems were mounting.   I have to say, I didn’t think she would live longer than a year after Dad died—she was that broken-hearted.  But she lived eight more years, and in spite of her many health ups and downs, she seemed to enjoy life most of that time.  It was clear to me when I visited her in Texas that she was in a good situation and enjoying her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  She always spoke with great fondness about the loving care she was receiving from her family in Texas.

The last time I went to see your mom—December 2010—she was very thin and frail, but she was her same wonderful self.  We spent our last visit chatting incessantly, going shopping and eating at the Golden Corral.  As always, her hair was in an impeccable up-do and her nails were beautifully done.  I remember a gentleman stopping us in The Golden Corral to compliment your mom on how beautiful she looked—and he was right!   I think this is how I will always remember her: with her beautiful hair, nails and make-up, always carefully dressed.

When Barbara told me that your mom had put into hospice, I wasn’t sure how long she would live.  So I prayed that she wouldn’t suffer and that God would take her home to Him soon.

The night that your mom died I had taken my own mom to the musical play “Les Miserables.”  It’s a beautiful touching story of a man who struggles for many years but faithfully follows God by showing kindness and mercy to others. In the end he dies and is led into heaven by the spirits of two women who knew him in life.    The very last song of the show makes me think about Hazel and her passing on to her final reward (I’ve paraphrased a couple of the words from the song):

 “Come to me, where chains will never bind you
 All your grief at last, at last behind you
 God in heaven, look down on her in mercy
 Forgive her all her trespasses and take her to Your glory
 Take my hand
 And lead me to salvation
 Take my love
 For love is everlasting
 And remember
 The truth that once was spoken:
 To love another person is to see the face of God.”

Yes, to know your mom and to love her was to truly see the face of God.  And now she’s finally at rest.  She has no more sickness, no more pain, no more grief.  She’s now in heaven with all the people in her life she loved so much—her mother, her brothers and sisters, and my Dad.  For that I’m grateful and at peace.

I hope it’s of some comfort to know that she was and is very much loved by me, Ron, Susanna, and my brother and sisters. She was and always will be a very special person in our lives.

Love,

Elena

I have Known Granny for my entire life so even though she is technically a "step grandma" she was a granny to me. I am sad that since grandpa passed away that I have not been able to see her as much as I used to. But I will never forget how yummy her pinto beans were...or eating graham crackers with peanut butter and honey after school at their house. You will be missed dearly but I am glad you are at peace and with grandpa again. We all love and miss you!

I am one of Hazel's stepdaughters.  I first met Hazel when I was in the 6th grade so I have known Hazel for most of my life.  I remember Hazel as very hard worker.  She used to drive to Ryan Evans stores around the state of Arizona and bring new cosmetics displays to stores.  It was a lot of driving, and I know it was bad for health.  I was relieved when she no longer had to work.  She invited us over to have meals with my dad, Herculano Bailon, and she made so much food.  I could never understand how she could make so much food for us, including home baked pies.  Even now that I'm a mother and a grandmother, I still don't know how she did it.  The thing I remember the most about her is how much she loved my dad.  My dad had congestive heart failure and had to live in a hospice.  Hazel spent every day there with him.  It was sad to see my dad die, but he was surrounded by her love. She was a wonderful person, and now she will be with my dad forever.

I knew Hazel at our TOPS Chapter in Tempe AZ.  She was a wonderful person and a good friend for many years.  We kept in touch at Christmas time after she moved to Texas. My condolences to her family.

OBITUARIO

Hazel Lorene Bailon

7 noviembre, 1921 – 9 junio, 2011

Cashner Funeral Home & Garden Park Cemetery

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