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In Memory

Hazel Nelson - Class Of 1922

OBITUARY INFORMATION FROM HAZEL'S NEPHEW PAUL ADDISON, CLASS OF 1970:

Hazel Violet Nelson Shields
March 8, 1906 - November 8, 1998

Hazel was my aunt, my mother Ruth Nelson's sister. She was born in East Gary, probably in her Grandmother Clara's home on Old Hobart Road. She graduated from Hobart High School in 1922, at the age of 16.

Hazel lived in East Gary until 1945, except for a short time in Gary. She moved to Scituate, Massachusetts, where she lived until her passing. She was an excellent piano player, who played most of her songs in the key of Gb, so that she could use mostly black keys. She was also an excellent Scrabble player.

She married George Maxwell Shields in 1927, at the Nelson homestead in East Gary. Hazel and Max had two surviving children: George Maxwell Jr. and Patrick John, both born in East Gary.

Hazel worked for the Gary Audit Company in Gary in the 1920s, and for the Lake County Auditor's Office in Crown Point in the 1930s. When Hazel and Max moved to Massachusetts, it was because Max had been sent there by his employer, Cudahy Packing Company. During his years in Scituate, he became involved with town government as a selectman. He also became a realtor and worked for a local realty company. Max died in 1974.

Hazel was survived by sons George (Norma) Shields and Patrick (Donna) Shields, grandchildren Dr. Naomi Shields, Tracy (Larry) Mazur, George Shields III, Nancy (Gene) Morisak, Sgt. Eric Shields, USMC, and great-grandchildren Cameron and Bailey Morisak.

A celebration of life was held on November 15, 1998, at the Harbor United Methodist Church in Scituate, Massachusetts.

The picture below is from the 1922 HHS Aurora yearbook, made available by the Lake County Public Library, at: https://archive.org/details/HOHS1922Images/.

Hazel Nelson Shields, Class of 1922