Mary Hazelton, age 89, of Prior Lake, MN, passed away peacefully on June 14, 2023 at New Perspective Senior Living, Prior Lake. Celebration of Life will be held at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, July 12, 2023 at Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation, 833 Marschall Rd, Shakopee. A time of gathering will be held one hour prior to services from 5:30 – 6:30 PM.
Mary was born on July 7, 1933 in Minneapolis, MN to Oscar and Orlee (Vance) Ecklund. She married Rean (Steve) Hazelton on August 29, 1952. Mary lived happily on Fremont Avenue in Bloomington, MN for 65 years.
Mary had a great love of Jesus Christ, her Lord and Savior. Her theme song was, “One day at a time sweet Jesus that is all I am asking from you.” Jesus was the source of her strength and determination throughout her lifetime. She loved watching “The Greatest Story Ever Told” movie every Easter.
Mary was a housewife and homemaker raising her daughters Dianna and Barbara Hazelton. Each summer, Mary and her husband, Steve spent every weekend up at her parent’s lake cabin on Lake Orono, in Elk River, MN. Among the many projects at the cabin there was an addition of a porch, garage and a boat house which is still on the lake today. Mary had many fond memories of “cabin life” with her parents and her family (Lawrence Welk, home cooked meals, parties, and always a game of nickel/dime poker in the evening).
Mary was an excellent cook and housekeeper for her family. After their divorce Steve would like to describe the favorite meals she would cook, and he would make our mouths water. Even though they were divorced, Mary and Steve remained friends. Mary was greatly appreciated, and our home was always as neat as a pin.
Mary and her sister, Eleanor, would go on cruises and one of her greatest moments while on the cruise was meeting Bobby Rydell. Her favorite CDs were “Bobby’s Greatest Hits”, “Tom Jones”, and “Engelbert Humperdink”. Mary stayed within a 1-mile radius of her home and would proudly say, “I put in two tanksful of gas each year and changed the oil in my car only once a year.”
Mary enjoyed crocheting and made a number of beautiful Afghans to keep our family “warm”. She enjoyed bowling with the neighborhood team on Friday nights and had quite a few 200+ games and 500 series. Mary also enjoyed playing cards with friends and family. Mary liked controlling her lights by clapping her hands for “on” and “off”.
Mary was a hard worker and loved to mow the lawn and rake the leaves. She also enjoyed shoveling the snow and using her snow blower. Mary really enjoyed the time she lived at New Perspectives. She enjoyed and was very fond of the staff and residents she interacted with daily. Some of the staff became almost like family!
Mary will be most remembered for the courage and fortitude she had to live her life the way she wanted. She could most certainly say, “I did my life “My” Way! She was definitely – one in-a million!
Mary will be dearly missed by her children, Dianna (Doug) Gerold and Barbara Reichstadt; grandchildren, Laura and James LaValle and Kelle Rome; and other loving family and friends. She is preceded in death by her parents, Orlee and Oscar Ecklund; sister, Eleanor Ecklund; and ex-husband, Rean (Steve) Hazelton.
