Judy M. Hazelo

Lansing, MI

September 15, 1948
December 26, 2016

I was born Judy M. Taylor and raised in Pontiac, Michigan.  I attended all 12 years at St. Benedicts and St. Fredericks Catholic schools.  My parents were very hard workers.  My mother Irene Carrier was an accountant for General Motors.  My father Seldon Taylor was a Long Haul Trucker for Pontiac Motors.  I have a brother Seldon and two younger sisters Carol and Rita.  My dad use to say that “we were all Taylor made!”  My favorite thing to do when I was a kid was to play football.  My sisters wanted me to play with dolls.  I have four nieces; Dawn, Lisa, Alicia and Jennifer and 1 nephew Steven.

I have raised two sons, Thomas Joseph and Timothy Scott.  They both live with their families out of state.  They are my pride and joy.  I am most proud of raising them and of them raising their own families.

Thomas and his wife Becky live in North Carolina.  Tom graduated from high school and joined the United States Army.  He was excellent in math and earned a full four year scholarship to Michigan State University, but went into the Army instead.  Becky is a wonderful woman, wife and good friend.

Tim is married to Maria, who is one of my best friends and they live in Washington State.  Tim is retired from the United States Navy. They now run a small Hobby farm where they raise; pigs, goats, chickens and turkeys.  They had three sons, Kristopher, Landon and Seldon (who died in a car accident).  One year, Maria and I left all the men home and had a wonderful time on an Alaskan cruise.  It was a blast.

My grandsons are very special to me.  Kristopher works for a Navy contractor in Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, Washington.  He has two sons, my great-grandsons Dorian and Andrew. Landon is my little sweetheart; he is 26 years old and is a massage therapist.  I get free massages! He has the most clients in his building and it makes me so proud.  My grandson died in 2006, he was my first grandson and so very dear to me.  We loved each other so much.  We treated each other so special as I did him.  He was a football star at Oak Harbor High School.  There is a plaque at the school in his honor and the school has retired his Jersey number.  I miss him very much.

I am faithfully and totally Catholic.  I have been a Catholic all of my life, and most recently (April 21, 2016) a professed Secular Franciscan.  This was a 3 year journey and one of the coolest things I have ever done! I am a minister of the Pope.  We are out in the world doing our work humbly and for others.  For me, this means serving human kind in my church and in my works.  We are “doers.”  We try to live the way St. Francis did.  My current church is St. Therese Church in Lansing, Michigan, where I serve on the worship and liturgy ministry as well as a Eucharistic Minister, Lector and Mass Coordinator.

My work career was varied.  My best most rewarding job was as a firefighter/EMT for DeWitt Township.  I began that career as a volunteer, working my way up to a captain and training officer.  I Loved that work.  I felt I made a difference, I helped people, I rescued people, I had a sense of fulfillment when I was at that job.  My coworkers were like family to me.

I left that work when I started my own work in 1983.  My companies name was Opinion Research Specialists.  We were a survey company working with school districts, small towns and villages, and eventually the State of Michigan.  I employed 35 people at one point.  Eventually the contract with the state of Michigan evolved into full time employment for me with the Special Education Department.  While I worked through these jobs, I went to Michigan State University and LCC full time for classes in business Administration and raised my sons.   I was busy, but again, it was rewarding.

I retired from the state of Michigan in 2008 and took up Gardening inside and outside my home.  I loved having a food and flower garden in my retirement.  I volunteered for Sparrow hospital delivering communion to members of our church and also the homebound.

My family friends and church kept me very busy throughout my life.  I hope that they find the same joys in their lives that I had throughout mine.  See you all on the other side.

The Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 3, 2017, at St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church, 102 W. Randolph St., Lansing. The Rite of Committal will follow at Gunnisonville Cemetery, DeWitt. Her family will receive friends beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday at the church. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church.