Hazell Melson Smith's Obituary
Hazell Smith, age 96, of Lewes, DE passed away on Thursday, December 4, 2014 at Delaware Hospice Center, Milford, DE with her loving family by her side. Mrs. Smith was born in Philadelphia, PA on July 31, 1918, daughter of the late Harvey E. Melson, Sr. and Philomina (Mueller) Melson.
Several years after the tragic death of her father in 1921, she relocated to Hollywood, CA with her mother and step-father James R. Burke. She graduated from Hollywood High School in 1936 and attended Woodbury College in Hollywood, USC in LA and Welsley School of Business in LA. This education and her love for all things beautiful led her to a career in the fashion industry. She worked for several years in California for I Magnum and was a buyer for the Greenburg Brothers Brook’s Department Store. In 1946, she returned to the East Coast to visit with family and was introduced to Otis H. Smith, whom she married in 1947. She then made Lewes, DE her home for the next 67 years.
Hazell was active in the community serving 12 years on the Board of Directors for the Children’s Bureau of the State of Delaware. She was active in politics serving as Vice Chair for the Republican State Committee and past president of Sussex Women’s Republican Club. She was the originator of the Blue Carriage Ball (Old Rehoboth Country Club). More recently, Hazell enjoyed providing resources to the Lewes Historical Society for their archives in a town she grew to love. She attended ST. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Lewes for many years.
Her love of animals, horse’s in particular, allowed her to host many horse shows on the Smith farm property, which benefited St Peter’s Church, The Childrens’ Bureau, and the Lions Club. She was also active with the Sussex County SPCA with her late brother Harvey Melson, who was instrumental in starting the Sussex County branch of the SPCA in Georgetown.
She was active in the harness racing industry for several decades, racing in the Tri-state area of Delaware, New Jersey and New York.
In addition to her parents and beloved step-father, Hazell is predeceased by her former husband Otis H. Smith, a brother Harvey E. Melson, Jr. and a sister in-law, Julia M. Melson.
Aunt Hazell is survived by three nieces Jill M. Gray of Santa Maria, California, Juliann M. Taylor and Karen Parker of Georgetown and numerous great nieces and nephews.
A Funeral Service will be held on Tuesday, December 9, 2014 at 11 AM at Parsell Funeral Homes and Crematorium, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, 16961 Kings Highway, Lewes, DE. Interment will follow services at All Saints Cemetery, 20274 Beaver Dam Road, Harbeson, DE 19951.
In lieu of flowers in Mrs. Smith's memory, donations may be made to Delaware Hospice, 100 Patriots Way, Milford, DE 19963.
Please sign Hazell's online guestbook at this site.
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