Belinda Belle Brown Hazel

Belinda Belle Brown Hazel passed away peacefully at home on January 9, 2025. She was preceded in death by her father Lt. Col. Charles Brown, USMC, her mother Vivian Frier Brown and her brother, 1st Lt. Goul “Brownie” Brown, USAFR. She is survived by her husband of 47 years, Donald Hazel, her high school sweetheart. She is also survived by her daughter, Amanda Dietz (Kevin), her son, Aubrey Hazel (Charli), and her beloved grandchildren Eli Soileau, Evie Soileau, Charles Dietz, Madeleine Dietz, Thompson Dietz and Anne Dietz (due in March 2025).

Belinda was born in Corona, CA, a self-proclaimed Marine Corps brat. After living in California, Baton Rouge, Virginia and Oklahoma, her father was transferred to the Belle Chasse Naval Air Station and her parents settled in Braithwaite, LA. It was here that she and her brother began attending Woodlawn School when Belinda was in second grade. She graduated as salutatorian of Promised Land Academy. It was also here that she met many of her dearest lifelong friends and her high school sweetheart, Donald. She graduated with a BS from LSU in Baton Rouge, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.

After getting married, Belinda and Donald moved home to Braithwaite in 1980, to a house Belinda carefully designed and loved dearly. Belinda loved the view of her Dad’s orange trees out her kitchen window, walking the trail through the woods in her back yard, the sound of the fog horns on the Mississippi River, crawfish boils, bonfires, barbeques, fires in the fireplace, fishing trips, the annual Thanksgiving “Satsuma Bowl,” and mostly her garden which is where she could usually be found. After Hurricane Isaac flooded their beloved Braithwaite home, Belinda and Donald put on a brave face and packed up and moved to Belle Chasse, where they built a home which was again carefully designed by Belinda, this time with plenty of space for their grandchildren to spend the night and play outside.

It was in Plaquemines Parish that Belinda began her career as a real estate appraiser for Belle Chasse Real Estate, Inc., a company which her father had started after retiring from the Marine Corps. Over the course of more than 25 years she appraised properties from Braithwaite to Bohemia on the East Bank and from Belle Chasse to the Jump on the West Bank. She earned a reputation as a respected, scrupulous professional, testifying as an expert witness and as one of less than 300 appraisers in the state to hold the General Real Estate Appraiser certification. She was a licensed Real Estate Broker for over 25 years. Her children can remember helping her out in her office by making copies or holding the measuring tape while she measured properties.

After 25 years as an appraiser, she was appointed as one of five Commissioners on the Louisiana State Tax Commission in 2008 and represented her district for four years. In 2012 she began working at the Plaquemines Parish Assessor’s Office as Deputy Assessor under Assessor Bobby Gravolet, for whom she had great respect and admiration. Following Assessor Gravolet’s retirement, Belinda was elected as the first female Assessor of Plaquemines Parish in 2014 and again in 2018. She thrived in her role and truly enjoyed it. She was extremely proud of her staff, singing their praises regularly. She considered public office to be a tremendous responsibility and was a true public servant. Once she became ill, it was the most difficult decision of her life to step down from office, but she was brave, conscientious and steadfast, facing her illness with courage and even a little humor. She once wrote that the “craziness is part of a larger plan that requires faith and trust. If everything were certain and everything went as we plan, there would be no need for any faith. So, trust; have faith and patience (a virtue!) and things will fall into place.”

Belinda had a very strong faith in God and was a lifelong member, past Board Chair and Lay Leader of Belle Chasse United Methodist Church. She served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) advocating for foster children in the judicial system. She enjoyed her membership in the Belle Chasse Garden Club, loved watching Pelican’s basketball and LSU football, attending her grandchildren’s school events, fishing trips with Donald, shopping for Christmas presents, listening to the Bible, and her hair appointments, which she attended every six weeks no matter what.

The family would like to thank Bridget Lacey, Marion Tillman and Addy Dear with Personal Homecare Services for their devoted care, and Dr. James Rini with Ochsner Neurology, for leaving no stone unturned in trying to find a diagnosis while patiently and meticulously explaining every detail.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Visitation at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd., New Orleans on Friday, January 17, 2025 at 10:00 am and the Funeral Service at 1:00 pm. Interment will follow in Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Gretna.