Hazel Tucker Patteson

Austin, TX- HAZEL TUCKER PATTESON passed from this life to the next on October 21, 2011 at Heartland Nursing Facility in Austin, Texas. She was the widow of John William Patteson who died in 1996 in Bluefield, West Virginia. Hazel was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Rachel Moore Tucker and Grover Cleveland Tucker on March 18, 1919. She attended Tuscaloosa schools and worked for five years as Secretary for the Vocational Educational Department at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Prior to that she was a typist for Olin Mills at the Olin Mills Studio in Tuscaloosa, Alabama Hazel met her husband John, a student at the University of Alabama in 1939. He entered active duty in the Air Force in 1941. Hazel and John were married at the St Anthony Hotel in San Antonio, Texas on May 18, 1942. At the end of World War II they settled first in Matoaka, West Virginia and then made Bluefield, West Virginia their permanent home. Hazel worked briefly for the Appalachian Power Company, Montgomery Ward, and filled in at Bland Street Methodist Church where she was a member. Hazel loved being a wife and a stay at home mother. She said that she was not a joiner, but preferred keeping her schedule open for her family. Her hobbies included sewing with or without a pattern, reading the Classics from beginning to end and working crossword puzzles. She volunteered at Fairview School and at Bluefield High School during her children’s school years. On Fridays she liked to ride with her husband John as he made customer calls in the coal fields. She often accompanied him to the Furniture Mart in Winston Salem, NC. Following John’s death in 1996 Hazel became a joiner and relished her luncheons with the Bluefield Elks Lodge, the Bluefield Moose Lodge, the Golden Age Club and the St. Lukes Chapter of Senior Friends. Hazel loved the Red Hat Society when it came to Bluefield and had many red and purple combinations. She loved Bingo and costume parties. She clipped coupons for fast food restaurants so that she could treat her friends to lunch. She cherished all friendships whether old or new. She loved all Tuckers and Pattesons. In 2000 she began traveling with her daughter Camille and took two memorable European trips. The first to Paris in 2001, and then just 4 days after the 9/11 bombing, a trip through Italy that began at the Vatican and ended in Venice. In 2007 she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. At her daughters insistence Hazel allowed herself to be moved to Austin, Texas. For four years she was a much loved resident of Parsons House Assisted Living. She did not remember names, but knew the faces of her caregivers. People often asked if she had been a beauty queen because of her big smile and gracious manners. On July 20, 2011 she had the first of two strokes that made it necessary to leave assisted living and move to a skilled nursing facility. While there she had a second stroke. She recognized her family members until just before her death. She knew that she was loved up until the end. She is survived by one daughter Camille Patteson Lyons and husband Dave of Austin, TX, grandsons Andrew Lyons of Mountain View, CA, and Will and Jeanette Lyons of Austin, and great-grandsons Henry and Carter Lyons of Austin, TX. Hazel is survived by one son John Tucker Patteson of Fairmont, WV, his step-daughter Tara Miller Meek and husband Andrew Meek, and Tara’s mother Patricia Patteson and brother Brian Miller. Hazel’s West Virginia family includes sisters-in-law Betty Patteson Campbell of Bluefield, WV and Esther Patteson Protzman of Barboursville, WV, and niece Cheryl Hughes Perkins of Bluefield, WV. Hazel has one sister Opal Tucker Patterson of North Manchester, Indiana and her family. There also numerous Tucker and Patteson cousins in Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and Ohio. Funeral Service will be conducted at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, October 29, at Mercer Funeral Home, 1231 W. Cumberland Road, Bluefield, WV. Officiating will be Pastor David Hall of Bland Street United Methodist Church. Interment will follow at the Patteson Family Cemetery, Narrows, Va at 3:30 p.m. Pallbearers are John Patteson, Dave Lyons, Andrew Lyons, Will Lyons, Andrew Meek, John Mahood and Jimmy Ball. Visitors are welcome to call at Mercer Funeral Home on Friday, October 28, from 6:00 p. m. until 8:00 p. m. at Mercer Funeral Home. Hazel suggested Memorial donations may be made to Bland Street United Methodist Church, 2620 Bland Road, Bluefield, WV 24701, or Mary’s Cradle, Trinity Methodist Church at 401 College Avenue, Bluefield, WV. 24701. Those wishing to share memories or condolence messages with the family may do so visiting www.MercerFuneralHome.com Mercer Funeral Home & Crematory is serving the family of Mrs. Hazel Tucker Patteson.

Hazel Tucker Patteson

March 18, 1919 - October 21, 2011