Hazel Bernice Nolen Hiatt Coffelt

Hazel, known to her family as Hazel B., was named after her mother’s sister. She was born on January 8, 1923, in Healdton, Oklahoma. Her father was Marvin J. Nolen and her mother was Virginia Smythe Nolen. She had a dearly beloved sister, Jean, that was two years older.  They ran a fruit and vegetable stand, so they soon moved to Ada, Oklahoma, and then on to Manzanola, Colorado, where he opened the hardware store that sold everything!! Hazel and Jean both met their husbands in high school in nearby La Junta.  They were all four good friends. Jean married Ernie Hazlett and they had three children, Jerilyn, Karen and Jimmy. Even though they were not close in distance most of the time, they always stayed very close in hearts.  After high school, Hazel’s parents divorced. She moved to California with her mother. Her fiancé, Bob, joined the Army Air Corps before it became the Air Force. He was sent to Charleston, South Carolina, where he was going to ship out to the war. Before he left, Hazel drove all the way across the United States by herself to join him there. They were married there on May 7, 1942. Hazel drove back to Glendale, California and began working on B52’s as a “Rosie the Riveter”.  She was 19 years old.  

During the war, for four years, Hazel received a letter every day, and Special Delivery on Sundays, from Bob. Many of the letters had holes in them where the censors cut out any words that might give the enemy a clue as to the whereabouts of our troops. He worked as an airplane mechanic in India and China and was with the Flying Tigers. 

After the war was over, Bob and Hazel moved to Denver, Colorado, where their only child was born, Patricia Gay. When Patty was two years old, Bob re-enlisted in the Air Force. When he came home in a uniform, Patty said, “Mommy’s kissing a soldier boy!” From then until 1964, they moved many times around the United States and also Ankara, Turkey and Montevideo, Uruguay.  The longest they lived in one place was 2 ½ years in Ankara. No matter where it was, Hazel always made each new house we lived in seem like our familiar home. 

In 1964, after Pat graduated from high school in Denver, Hazel and Bob divorced and she and Pat moved to Downey, California, to be near her sister, Jean, and her family. She began working as a bookkeeper there. One Saturday, when Hazel was visiting Jean, they had a surprise visit from an old friend from La Junta, Bill Coffelt. She and Bill were married a year later and moved to Bakersfield, California. 

Hazel began working for Jeanne Seal Accounting, where she worked for over 20 years. She had a reputation for never making a mistake. Once, she made a very small mistake, and they sent out for cake and ice cream and had a celebration. Hazel was quite upset when she got home. 

Not long after Hazel moved to Bakersfield, Pat moved to Idaho.  What followed were many trips to Idaho, or Pat’s family visiting Bakersfield. Except for 3 years, that started over 50 years of phone calls, two or three times a week. Hazel’s grandchildren were born in Idaho. Carrie Bernhard Rist was born in 1970 and Matthew Bernhard was born in 1972. Pat adopted a third child in 1991, Gabriela Bernhard. Hazel was a very loving and caring grandmother, and never acted like she loved any one more than the other, and she was dearly loved in return. In June, 1996, Hazel’s great granddaughter, Courtney, was born to her grandson, Matt. 

In 1995, Hazel’s husband, Bill Coffelt died, so she moved to Idaho to be with Pat and her family. About a year later, a mutual friend introduced her to Jack Vizzard, in Bakersfield. They went from phone calls and short visits to her moving back to Bakersfield in 1999. Hazel and Jack were a loving couple until she had to move back to Idaho in 2018 for health reasons. But, while she was with Jack, his family enveloped her and loved her. Especially his daughter and son-in-law, Sylvia and Fred Chavez. Sylvia’s three children, Julie, John, and Megan also. She was always very loved. 

In all her adult life, she was the sweetest, kindest woman ever . . . wife, mother, grandmother. After Hazel had to be placed in the memory home, she was loved there too. Everyone called her “Sweet Hazel”. All of my adult life, I have said that my goal in life is to grow up to be like my mother: sweet, kind, loving, helpful and encouraging. That is still my goal. Now that we are at this point, I pray that I may be able also to die like my mother – still sweet, kind, and loving.    

In 1980, Both Hazel and Bill prayed with me to ask Jesus Christ to come into their hearts as Lord and Savior. Because of this, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my mother is alive and beautiful and well in Heaven right now with the Lord! We will see her again!