Hazel Willard - Obituary

azel Gene “Jean” Willard Of Annapolis, MD passed away on Thursday, September 2, 2010. Beloved wife of the late Charles H. Willard for 63 years, loving mother of seven children: Brian Willard, Jack Willard, Mark Willard, Melvin Willard, Denise Willard, Sarah Willard Draughon, and Jeannie Willard Davis. Devoted grandmother of 28 and great grandmother of 44. She was born the only child to the late Eugene Lee Howard and Hazel Stella Dean on February 13, 1926 in Montgomery, AL. At the age of 5, she and her mother moved to live with her Aunt Jeannette and Uncle Melvin in Washington, D.C. She graduated from Calvin Coolidge High School in Washington D.C. in 1944 and then worked as a clerk at Walter Reed Commissary. During this time she met her future husband, Charles Henry “Jack” Willard, who worked for Metropolitan Poultry Company, one of the commissary’s suppliers. As Jean put it, Jack “swept her off her feet” and they were married April 13, 1946. Jack and Jean’s growing family kept Jean very busy, but she still managed to find the time to “develop her talents” in cooking, flower arranging, tole painting, crocheting, dancing, singing and genealogy. Jean was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 69 years. Jean served in the children’s auxiliary of the Church for 11 years and was a “Den Mother” for the Boy Scouts of America for many years. Jean sang with the Columbia Light Opera Company, the Singing Mothers (a women’s chorus of 300 members who sang at the Worlds Fair in 1964), Sweet Adalines, and The Mormon Choir of Washington D. C. She was an avid genealogist and spent years collecting information on her family and her husband’s family. At the age of 50, Jean took up ballroom dancing and competed on both the bronze and silver levels for over 30 years. She was the recipient of over 100 gold medals and was a patron of ballroom dancing. In her golden years her main focus was associating with her family and preserving family memories. When asked what was her greatest wish for her family she replied, “To be happy.” Friends are invited to Hazel’s Life Celebration at the George P. Kalas Funeral Home, 2973 Solomons Island Rd., Edgewater, MD on Monday, September 6, 2010 between 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 7 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1875 Ritchie Highway, Annapolis, MD. Interment Mount Olivet Cemetery, Frederick, MD. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to NIH Children’s Hospital, 7 West Drive, Bethesda, MD 20814 or the Ronald McDonald House Charities, Attention: Charitable Accounting, One Kroc Drive, Oak Brook, IL 60523.