Hazel Martin Obituary

Hazel Martin, revered teacher and lifelong scholar, died on July 29, 2007, at the age of 100 years. Born October 1, 1906 in Ault, Colorado, she attended high school in Denver where she took top honors in a class of 400 and went on to graduate from Colorado College in 1929. Her teaching career began in Victor, Colorado where she taught high school for eight years. That career blossomed when she was hired to teach Latin and Spanish at Cheyenne Mountain High School in 1936. She remained at Cheyenne - adding a University of Colorado Master's Degree to her credentials and expanding her repertoire to include French- until her retirement in 1967. For Miss Martin, teaching was not a job; it was a passion. When she was nominated as Colorado Teacher of the Year, colleagues noted in their letters of support that she used her vacation time to pursue her own studies and deepen her knowledge. They called her the most dedicated and professional teacher they knew. Just as Miss Martin expected excellence of herself, she expected it of her pupils. But she didn't simply demand high standards, she inspired students to achieve them through her own contagious love of learning and languages and cultures. Throughout her long retirement, students whose lives she touched wrote her letters, paid her visits, and honored her with a grand celebration when she reached the landmark age of 100 in 2006. Among Hazel Martin's many honors were election to Phi Beta Kappa during her college years and to Delta Kappa Gamma, the teacher's honorary society, in 1950. In 2005 she was named to the Cheyenne Mountain School Hall of Fame. Her civic activities included membership in P.E.O. She is survived by her sister Sara Mitchell of Phoenix, Arizona, her family and other relatives. A memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 8th in the Chapel on the 10th floor of the Medallion Complex at 1719 E. Bijou St. Colorado Springs, CO., 80909. Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to the Cheyenne Mountain Heritage Center, P.O. Box 38201, Colorado Springs. Colorado, 80937.

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Published by The Gazette from Aug. 2 to Aug. 3, 2007.

Memories and Condolences
for Hazel Martin

5 Entries

Terri Erickson

August 6, 2007

My deepest sympathies to Miss Martin's family. I remember French classes in that little house on the side of Cheyenne High - I went on to get degrees in French and Spanish, inspired by her teaching, and the benefits of that education continue today. Thank you!

Sandra Webb Walters

August 4, 2007

Thank you Miss Martin for instilling in me a love for learning. Did not do to well with Latin but I quickly switched to Spanish and loved it. You were the greatest!!! (class of 1957)

Carl Rowe

August 3, 2007

Ah, Miss Martin, I was one of your frustrations -- a student who did not apply himself -- until later in life. But, when I finally did reach for the potential you said I had, I became someone I hope you would have been proud of (I mean, I hope I became someone of whom you would have been proud!)

May you, Miss Martin, rest in the dignified peace you so richly deserve.

Dan Davis

August 2, 2007

I am one of thousands of students who took French from Miss Martin at Cheyenne Mountain, but what she really taught me was love of scholarship and commitment to learning. Along with many others, I assume, I had long since thought she had left us. I would liked to have told her how much she meant to me and how many times I thought of her during my life. Miss Martin: My French is still not very good, but whatever I have achieved in life could to a very large degree be credited to the ideals you inculcated in all of us. Thank you.

Tish Allen

August 2, 2007

My sympathy to the faily. I met Ms. Martin once when she visited Victor for a class reunion for my Mother and her friends. My Grandmother and Momma and her brothers always had spoke fondly of Ms.Martin and admired her and respected her as a teacher She taught the 4 Musser children and the oldest passed one week after he graduated Valedictorian of his class. Ms. Martin enjoyed many meals at my Grandmother's restaurant in Victor - the Gold Belt Lunch Room. I wished we had known that she was living in Colorado Springs because I would have taken Momma to visit with her. Her name was Eleanor Musser Baker.

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