Hazel Laverne West

Hazel Prichard West, 92, died Monday, August 3, 2009, at an Abilene nursing center. The daughter of Birdie Dell (McElhannon) and Job Prichard, Hazel was born on December 20, 1916, in Stonewall County, Texas, and graduated from Woodson High School. She married Oscar West on December 24, 1939, in Breckenridge. Since 1957, she had been a resident of Abilene where she worked for the Abilene ISD in the Madison Junior High School snack bar. She was a member of Southwest Drive United Methodist Church in Abilene. Her husband, Oscar West; granddaughter, Sara Elizabeth Abel; parents; sister, Lillian Berry; and brother, Ray Prichard, preceded Hazel in death. Hazel is survived by her daughter, Nancy Abel and husband, Steve, and granddaughter, Ashley Abel, all of Abilene. She was a gentle woman of great faith who remained steadfast in her love for her God, her family, the Church, and her many friends. Funerals services will be 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, August 5, at The Hamil Family Funeral Home Chapel, 6449 Buffalo Gap Road in Abilene, officiated by Rev. Norman Patton. Interment will follow in Elmwood Memorial Park. The family will receive friends from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. The family expresses a special "thank you" to Mrs. West's caregivers including Sears Methodist Center - special caregivers at Station 4; Hendrick Hospice - Nurses, social workers and volunteers; and Hazel's longtime and faithful friends that continued to visit her at Sears. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hendrick Hospice Care, 1682 Hickory, Abilene, TX 79601, or Southwest Drive United Methodist Church, 3025 Southwest Dr., Abilene, Texas 79605.