We are sad to announce the passing of Hazel Marie Hampton Hildebrand, 91, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and tireless caregiver.

Hazel was born in Oxford, Ohio in 1931 to Martha Coates and Alda (Bud) Franklin Hampton. The oldest of three sisters (Norma, 1933 and Ruth Ann, 1938), Hazel came up during The Great Depression. She watched her mom work three jobs to take care of the family and would walk her sisters to the mailbox to pick up the child support check, then fewer than ten dollars.

At 16, Hazel moved to Hartford City, Indiana to live with her Aunt Thelma and Uncle Hank. There she graduated from Hartford City High School and met Robert (Bob) Gene Hildebrand. They were married in 1951.

Hazel and Bob welcomed Lonna Jean and Robert Beniah into the world on October 14, 1951 and December 25, 1953, respectively. They raised their children where they worked: Hildebrand and Son grocery store and butcher. The family lived next to the store, which served Hartford City residents and the farmers raising corn and soy on the land surrounding the town.

All four family members worked the store, stocking shelves, cutting meat, ringing customers and serving breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches. On the weekends, Hazel would drive back to Ohio to visit her mother, to whom she was a lifelong devoted daughter, with Lonna sleeping on the front seat.

In the early 1980s, Hazel relocated from Hartford City to Dallas, Texas and reinvented herself. Her sister Ruth Ann recommended healthcare and at age 50, Hazel graduated from nursing school. She worked the next twenty five years as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) in multiple nursing facilities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area providing direct care and managing the floor nurses.

Her inclination for caregiving extended beyond work to her family, friends and loved ones. She helped raise her oldest grandson, Joe, for several years, working the night shift and then caring for him during the day while Lonna worked. When she moved into an assisted living facility, Hazel kept a watchful eye over her fellow residents, making sure their needs were addressed by the staff.

In her personal life, Hazel abided by the 3 C’s: Coffee, Cocker Spaniels and the Cowboys. Heaven was all three together with the Cowboys winning. She liked her quiet and her Kat Martin, her bread buttered and bacon crisp. On Thanksgiving, she made jello that stared back at you. She always had a collection of Disney VHS tapes for her grandchildren when they got tired of climbing the magnolia tree out front or shaking down the neighbors during “scavenger hunts”. On Sunday mornings she would take them for donuts and could be counted on to buy things when the parents said “no”.

After retiring from nursing, Hazel lived in Ohio, Florida and finally in Pawleys, South Carolina, where she helped her daughter and son-in-law run Pawleys Pantry kitchen store and picked up fried chicken at Hog Heaven with Cocker Spaniel Sammy riding shotgun. At 80, she finally got to see the Grand Canyon. It was about what she expected. In candid moments, she would lament there were too many men in the world.

Hazel was loved by her family and fiercely loyal to her friends. She put in the work at her job and for the people she cared about her entire life without complaint. She was not afraid to speak her mind and held a good grudge if you crossed her or, lord forbid, made a joke about one of her dogs. She will be missed but her memory will always bring a smile to the faces of the ones she has left behind.

Hazel is survived by her daughter, Lonna Handley (Ron), son Bob Hildebrand (Jeanne); grandchildren Joe Monfort (Kirstin), Lauren Hildebrand (Joe Damouny), Beniah Hildebrand (Teresa), step-grandchildren Ron Jr. (Jeana) and Rachel; great-grandchildren Antoine (Tony) Damouny, Hailey Hildebrand, Robert (Robbie) Damouny, Ella Hildebrand, Miles Monfort, Lyla Hazel Monfort; step great-grandchildren Jake, Dane and Grayson Handley and Rebecca and Nicole Godwin; sister Norma Hull; nieces Cheryl Hill, Karen Cummins, Debbie Garrett, Beth Lawrence; nephew Danny Jarvis.

Hazel is predeceased by her sister Ruth Ann Elliott, half-sister Linda Kaye Bryant, niece Tari Elliott, Nephew Billy Jarvis, great-grandson Luke Robert Hildebrand, as well as by pet Cocker Spaniels Gus, Peaches, Scooter and Sammy.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to the Humane Society of Tampa Bay or Saint Francis Animal Center in Georgetown, SC.

Services will be held on Saturday, October 1 at 10 AM at Rose Hill Funeral Home & Burial Park 2565 Princeton Rd. Hamilton, OH 45011.

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