Hazel Alberta Hays was born in Blair Kansas on October 17, 1928 to Lilly and Alexander McCallan. She was the youngest of 9 Children. When she was 6 or 7 years old a boy at school pushed her down some stairs and broke her leg. She later developed Osteo Myelitis. This set the stage for the rest of her life. She was in and out of hospitals for most of her childhood. She would readily admit that her Daddy spoiled her. He was a big man even by today`s standards. Standing 6`4” and weighed in at 245. He would put her on his shoulders and carry her around with him throughout a good part of her day. Sadly at age 13 her Father Alexander (known as Sandy) had an accident with his truck and died. At age 16 she met and Married Lestel Hays Sr. By age 26 she had four children, Sandra, Gloria, Judith and Lestel Jr. She also helped Lestel Jr raise 3 of her Great Grandchildren, Penelope, Ryan and Jacob. She is responsible for enough Grandchildren, Great grandchildren and great great grandchildren to start her own town. She was very proud of her family and was able to see 5 generations. When she was 27 her Mother (Lilly) passed away. So she had to figure this parenting thing out on her own. Mom worked on an assembly line at Noma Lights and a candy factory and a few other jobs to make ends meet. Around age 28 she started selling Avon. She soon discovered that she was good at sales. She met Ben and Ruby Duncan who owned a vacuum cleaner business and she and my Dad Les started working for them. Mom soon proved to be very good sales person. She always said “you cannot sell what you don`t believe in”. So she could not understand why if someone needed what she was selling, why they were not buying it. She would have them explain the problem to her until they talked themselves into the sell. My parents and the Duncan`s became lifelong friends. So when my brother Lestel Jr. was diagnosed with Asthma the doctors told my parents they needed to move him to a dryer climate like Colorado or Arizona. That was when we took our first and only big vacation. My parents decided that Colorado was the better choice. Her boss Ben and his wife relocated their company to Colorado too. So at the ripe old age of 31 they loaded up the family and moved to Colorado. Sales is a feast to famine type of business. We didn`t always live in the land of plenty but we always had enough. We always had new clothes to start the school year. Our Christmas`s were always amazing. We were never hungry. After 25 years of marriage my parents divorced and Mom was left with a carpet business that was struggling. Her nephew Jimmy and my Dad had named it J & L Carpets when they all first opened the business. The first thing Mom did was to change the name to Hazel`s Carpet. She made a success of that business. She was soon able to buy her first brand new car, A 1973 Buick Regal. With the help of my brother Lestel, that business supported her until she had to retired due to health reasons. At that time she was able to pursue her passion for Art. She taught art at several locations including Front Range Community College and a night class Northglenn High school. Our Mother was a strong and generous woman. Her door was always open to whoever needed help. She would find somewhere for them to sleep. Because of her strong personality, you might not like the answer she gave you but it was honest. If you were not able to deal with a brutally honest answer, Don`t ask the question. She made her children strong too. She would tell us “When life gets you down, you have to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” and “That the only helping hand you need is at the end of your arm”. She made us understand that we “ourselves” were the only ones responsible for our own lives. Mom lived a long and oftentimes difficult life. But I hope I speak for the rest of the family when I say “Thank you for the tools you gave us to live our lives Rest in peace Mom your work on this earth is done”.