Hazel Peterson

It is with sadness and love that we announce the passing of our mother, Hazel Peterson, on January 15, 2024. She left this life peacefully with her daughters by her side. Hazel was born July 15, 1923 in Medicine Hat, Alberta Canada. Her parents were Daniel and Orah Reid. She was reared and educated in Canada. At the age of 12 she achieved a grade of Level 8 from the Toronto Conservatory of Music. She graduated from Philip Sheffield Collegiate in Abbotsford, British Columbia Canada. She then attended Pitman Business School in Vancouver.
In 1943, at the age of 20, Hazel traveled across Canada by train to Washington, D.C. to become an executive secretary in the British Air Commission. She held this position until 1949. In July of 1949 she met and then married Matthew Stroup. He was completing his residency at Mt. Alto Veteran's Hospital. Following their marriage, they settled in Gastonia, NC, where Matthew began his medical practice.
In 1959 Hazel returned to Toronto, Canada with her daughter, Sara. She worked as an executive secretary for 6 years. During that time she met and married Howard Wilson. They were married for 15 years. While she was married to Howard, she worked as a real estate agent for Royal Le Page, Ltd.
Hazel returned to Gastonia in 1980 for the birth of her first grandchild. She was employed from 1981-1991 by Good Will Publishers as an executive secretary to the president, Patrick Gallagher. After retiring in 1991, she married William Peterson (now deceased).
Our mother was a happy, caring, warm person and a loving mother and grandmother. She was full of spontaneity and laughter. Hazel had a great sense of humor and loved music, dancing, reading, and playing bridge. She was widely admired for her kindness and generosity, gracious manner, and her endearing smile. She was devoted to her family. Her natural hospitality brightened the days of family and friends. She was a lady in its truest sense of the word, elegant yet natural. "Nana" as she was known to her family, will be greatly missed.
Hazel was preceded in death by her sisters, Marion Ruth Reid and Kay McPhee, and her brothers, Daniel Reid and Bob Reid, all from Vancouver, BC Canada. She is survived by her two daughters, Lydia Sargent (husband, Brom Sargent) and Sara Stroup (husband, Terry Hatton). She had 4 grandchildren: Matt Sargent, Jeff Sargent, Tyler Hatton, and Olivia Hatton.