Hazel passed away or her 93rd birthday. She was predeceased by her true love and husband, Reto Morton in 1975.
Hazel was survived by her five children, Pat Albert, Peter (Dianne) Morton, Karen Currie (Bob), Anne Peters (Irvin) and Wendy Morton. Her many grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Hazel came from a family of 12 children. She was predeceased by her mother and father, Florence and Peter Colin, and her siblings, her grand-daughter, Toni Currie, and two sons-in-law Al Albert and Vic Kohlman.
Hazel was one of the last true pioneer’s; she grew up while there were still stage coaches, shod roofed homes with dirt floors. She was born at home on the family ranch in the Cariboo.
During the early years, mom and dad didn’t have a lot of money, but one thing we always knew, there was plenty of love for each and every one of us. She taught us many things throughout our lives, but mainly how to love, how to laugh; she gave us strength as we set forth on our journey into adulthood.
Hazel was a gentle, caring, and generous person, and everyone who knew her was left with a lasting impression of her quiet strength and great insight. Children especially gravitated to Hazel; she could make friends with them in minutes and always made them feel important. Many of these friendships carried on for a lifetime.
Hazel’s other loves were berry picking, rock hounding in the Barriere River, gardening and traveling. She enjoyed her trips to Hawaii, Malaysia, and the numerous gambling trips to Reno. I think the best trips were with her kids back to Big Lake (Gustafson Lake) to visit the family homestead.
Hazel had an amazing memory and could tell many stories about the Cariboo, ranch life, raising us kids, and her days with dad and their saw mill at Lac La Hache.
The things that kept Hazel young were her love of knowledge, never saying she was old, keeping up with technology, but mostly having her family around. She was always up for a berry picking trip, going to Kamloops, or just a road trip to anywhere.
We will always cherish our memories of you, mom, and we will feel your love for us even though you are gone. We miss you. We love you.
Special thank you to Darcy and Yvonne, Hay, Dr. Clare and all the medical staff.