Hazel Fehler

Hazel Fehler, 95, formerly of Thomson, Illinois passed away on Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at Havana Health Care in Havana, IL. Graveside services will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, May 11 at Clinton Lawn Cemetery in Clinton, IA. Memorials may be given in her memory to the Thomson United Methodist Church, 1901 Rt. 84, Thomson, Illinois, 61285, where she was a member.
Hazel was born on March 27, 1918 in Thomson to John and Minnie Ashpole, graduating from York Community High School in 1936. She and her husband, Franklin Fehler, were married for 45 years, from 1939 until his death in 1984. Hazel lived in Thomson until 2009, when she was no longer able to live on her own due to advancing dementia. She then moved to Havana to be near family.
Hazel loved to gamble, traveling to Las Vegas many times. She also loved small children. She seemed to have a magical touch with them. She loved them and they loved her. Hazel was known for her scrapbooks of newspaper clippings that detailed local history. Many Thomson graduates borrowed these scrapbooks to share at class reunions. She also made hundreds of afghans that she gave away to people across the country. She was an excellent card player, and to her family she was the best catfish cook ever.
Hazel will be dearly missed by her two daughters, Rita (David) Badger of Havana, IL, and Rhonda (Dan) Cunningham of St. Charles, MO; one daughter-in-law, Polly Fehler of Seneca, SC; eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren, (plus one on the way); one brother, Robert Ashpole, and one sister, Evelyn Gray, of Thomson. She was preceded in death by her husband, Franklin; her daughter, Janice Bradley; and her son, Gene (who died twelve days earlier); three brothers and two sisters.