Hazel R. Gilbert, 89, Harrisonville, Missouri, died Wednesday, August 20, 2014 at Crown Care Center in Harrisonville. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, August 23 at the Faith Baptist Church in Harrisonville with visitation from 10:00-11:00 at the church. Burial in Orient Cemetery, Harrisonville. Memorial contributions may be made to: Faith Baptist Church, 23705 East State Route 2, P.O. Box 345, Harrisonville, MO 64701.

Hazel was born December 4, 1924 in Sylacauga, AL to proud parents Robert Samuel and Alvah J. (Brantley) Rutherford. Her father worked in the textile industry and the family resided in multiple locations throughout the southern states. Hazel made friends easily wherever she lived. She graduated from Enterprise Consolidated High School in Enterprise, MS on April 19, 1943. She married Ernest William (Bill) Gilbert on June 22, 1945. They relocated to Miami, FL as a newly married couple where Bill completed his service in the United States Army Air Corps. The Gilbert family resided in Mobile, AL for more than 20 years. Both Hazel and Bill worked in civil service at Brookley Air Force Base. Bill served in the Eastern GEEIA Region as Eastern's Director of Operations as Supervisor, Planner, and Programmer in the Wire Branch.

Hazel served as an Expediter and Coordinator of Supplies for the Air Force. Hazel and Bill had four children, Janis N., E. William, N. Renee and Phyllis A. Hazel became a full-time homemaker in 1955. She especially loved her volunteer work with preschoolers, and in the office of her church. The family moved to Gulfport, MS when Brookley Air Force Base closed. Bill was transferred to Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base as an Efficiency Analyst. In 1971, after living in Missouri only nine months, Bill had serious health problems and retired. Until Hazel retired, she enjoyed working for several years in the medical records department at Cass County Medical Center. Hazel was a member of Faith Baptist Church, the Progressive Priscillas extension club, a charter member of the Harrisonville Community Center, and a member of the Cass Regional Medical Center Auxilary.

Hazel was a charming and resilient person, an excellent hostess and a wonderful mother and friend. She had a great sense of humor and a fun-loving spirit. She especially loved her church and her time with her friends in her line-dancing exercise group. She was an accomplished seamstress and generous with her time and talents. She accepted whatever challenges life brought her with dignity and grace.

Hazel was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Bill and three siblings, Robert, Sammie and Veda. She is survived by four children and their spouses, Janis N. Blakeney (James) of Montgomery, AL, E. William Gilbert of Atlanta, GA, N. Renee Smith (Laurence) of Harrisonville, MO, and Phyllis A. McGhee (Ronald) of Harrisonville, MO; 8 grandchildren, Lamenda Blakeney, Grant Blakeney (Angel), Lauren Pedersen (Matt), Keeton Blakeney (Shelley), Allison Smith (Lucy), Kelsey Braaten (John), Joel McGhee (Erin) and Benjamin McGhee (Ginney). She is also survived by 11 great-grandchildren, Ruthie Grace Blakeney, Reese, Faith, and Lily Claire Blakeney, Tinsley, Chapel, and Brantley Blakeney, Jack and Marcus Pedersen, Maddox and Asher McGhee, as well as many friends and relatives.