Hazel, Ruth M.

Ruth M. (Nickerson) Hazel died quietly after a brief period of failing health. Raised in Milton, she remained married to her classmate, Evern W. Hazel, for 71 years. She and Evern raised their family of two girls and two boys in Randolph before leaving the work force and retiring to Largo, FL.

Ruth graduated from Milton High School in 1948 and was an excellent swimmer and diver during those years. She was also rightly proud of the fact that she drew all of the artwork for her high school yearbook. She enjoyed drawing and painting throughout her life, giving her family many fond remembrances to proudly hang on the walls of their homes.

Ruth loved to sing and enjoyed recreational sports such as golf and bowling throughout her married life. She will be remembered for often breaking out into song at gatherings of all sorts, bringing some life to the party. She also sang in her church choir.

Her bowling skills were well known as both a teacher and competitor, once appearing on the local area television show Candlepins for Cash. She bowled with the best competitively in the Brockton City League where she was among the leaders. After moving to Florida, she converted to ten-pin bowling and was said to have bowled a perfect 300 game.

Ultimately, the sport she most enjoyed was golf, which she took up after working at Strawberry Valley Golf Course. She played into her 80s with the same competitive drive and joy she displayed throughout her life (including some pretty spirited penny-ante poker games). As with bowling, she became an accomplished golfer within her age group despite her diminutive size — scoring a hole-in-one during her golf career of which few can boast. She would also occasionally send pictures of the celebrity golfers whom she had met.

In addition to her sports activities, she was an avid collector of Hummels among many other types of figurines, which she displayed throughout her Florida home.

Sadly, Ruth endured the heartbreaking loss of her youngest daughter, Cheryl, and her husband, Evern, over the past few years. She is survived and loved, however, by her daughter Donna (Hazel) Kendall and her husband, Ron, of Canton; her son Evern Hazel, Jr. and his wife, Diana, of North Attleboro; her son Will Hazel and his wife, Jackie, of Milton, and by Cheryl’s husband, Bill Catton, of Largo, FL. She will be greatly missed by her 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, all of whom lovingly refer to her as “Gramma.”

A memorial service will be held in Ruth’s honor at 11 a.m. on September 28 at the Congregational Church of Canton, with a burial to follow the next day at the Blue Hill Cemetery in Braintree. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research at lustgarten.org/donate or to a charity of your choice.

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Posted by Canton Citizen on Aug 31 2023. Filed under Obituaries. Both comments and pings are currently closed.