Danvers, MA – On November 6, 2017, Hazel A. Stevens, aged 79 died peacefully at the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers Massachusetts after a heroic ten-year battle against Alzheimer’s disease. Hazel was born in Naples, Maine on January 23, 1938 to Arlie and Clara (Harmon) Thompson. She is survived by her daughters Lynnea Hayden of Westfield, MA; Rhonda Mojkowski and her husband Andrew Mojkowski of Derry, NH; Annette Stevens of Westfield MA and Pamela Stevens and her husband Tarik Haydar of Marblehead MA. She was the proud “Mimi” of many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who every time she saw them, lit her up with joy and love. She is pre-deceased by the love of her life Charles “Buzzy” Stevens and beloved son Charles M. “Mal” Stevens formerly of Sydney Maine. Hazel was a graduate of Bridgton Maine High School. She married her high school sweetheart and was a devoted wife and mother who worked her entire life to support her family in every way possible. She was a stay at home mom for each of her five children. Although barely 5-foot-one, she could strike fear in the hearts of any school administrator as she advocated fiercely for her children, especially her special needs daughter. Capitalizing on her love of baking and being a part of people’s lives, she started her own business making wedding cakes. She then worked for Weight Watchers and at Westfield State College as the administrative assistant to the Dean of Academic Affairs. She retired as the secretary of the WSC Athletic Department in 2001. Hazel loved to bake, bowl, dance, play cards, go camping in her RV, and above all else cuddle and sing to her grandchildren her favorite songs. She was active in her community, volunteering for local and state-level politicians as well as local and national charities. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and whipped up many memorable pancake breakfasts at Mount Moriah’s Masonic Hall. Always on the move and rarely still, she would occasionally do crossword puzzles (in ink) and sit at the dining room table to share the simple pleasure of talk, tea, and a Twix bar. Hazel’s life was about the people in her life: her husband, her children, her grandchildren and her friends. She was the master of practical jokes and masterful at making people feel welcome and loved in her home, and at making the best life-long and treasured friends who became family to her children. Hazel was a unique combination of wit, grit, and warmth.
She was our abiding matriarch, our true north, and we will carry her in our hearts forever.
A Memorial Service will be held in Hazel’s honor at the First United Methodist Church, 16 Court Street, Westfield, MA on Saturday December 2, 2017 at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Care Dimensions – Kaplan Family Hospice House, Danvers, MA or on-line at caredimensions.org. firtionadams.com
