Hazel Cattabriga

CONCORD - Hazel (Swan) Cattabriga peacefully passed in the morning of July 5, 2013, at Havenwood Retirement Community in Concord. She was 89 years old.

Hazel was born in London in 1924 to Arthur Phillip Swan and his wife Elizabeth Maude (Howell). She was the ninth of 10 children. She spent her childhood in London and survived the Blitz and bombing of London during World War II, serving as an ambulance attendant during the war. She met her husband Evo Cattabriga at a dance at Covent Garden in 1944, and they were engaged in Salisbury Cathedral just before D-Day. They were married in London in 1945.

Hazel came to the U.S. in 1946 on the SS Argentina, the first ship of war brides to arrive in New York. They lived in Lebanon, moving to Concord in 1953. Hazel and Evo raised five children in Concord. She was an avid gardener, and loved the outdoors. She was a noted florist, working for several garden centers and greenhouses in the 1970s. Her love of flowers lead her to her next business venture, pressed flower lampshades, which were juried by the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen. Hazel sold lamps and shades across the US, and was known for these beautiful creations. She was also an exceptional cook, making Italian tortellini that was second to none.

Hazel was a member of the YMCA for many years, and participated in the Senior Olympics in swimming, winning several gold medals. Hazel and Evo enjoyed the Concord YMCA Outing Club as well. She volunteered at the Merrimack County Nursing home for several years, reading and writing letters for those sick and alone. Hazel moved to Havenwood in 2012, after spending 60 years in her home on East Side Drive.

Hazel was predeceased by her husband Evo in 2009. She leaves her children, Len and his wife Susan of Victor, Idaho, Mark and his wife Andrea of Gilford, daughter Diane of Bishop, Calif., Keith of Driggs, Idaho, and Alan and his wife Donna of Concord. Hazel also leaves eight grandchildren, Ben, Sage, Alissa, Johanna, Louisa, Emily, Olivia and Luke; and two great-grandchildren, Gabriel and Elena. She leaves her sister, Sheila Ochocki of Reading, Pa. Hazel's family will greatly miss her creative, spunky, independent and outspoken personality and amazing stories of her childhood in London.

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services: Family and friends are welcome to her internment on Friday, July 12, at 9 a.m. at the VA cemetery in Boscawen. Although Hazel loved her flowers, she loved her pets even more. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Concord SPCA in her memory.