Hazel Jane Dunagan passed away peacefully at her daughter's home in Providence, Rhode Island on February 15, 2024. Born November 17, 1923, she celebrated her 100th birthday in 2023 and pronounced that she would not be having another one. Three months later, in a private ceremony on February 27, she was laid to rest with her husband of 67 years, Claude Henry Dunagan, in the Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery at North Little Rock.

Hazel was preceded in death by her parents, William and Lillian Fester, and two brothers, Glen and John Fester. Claude passed away in 2011 at the age of 92. Hazel is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Benjamin and Lucinda Dunagan, and her daughter, Claudia Dunagan. She is also survived by Ben's daughter Erica Dunagan and son Kevin Dunagan and his wife Jennifer Dunagan. Her four great-grandchildren are Isabella Corrales, daughter of Erica, and Lillie, Luke, and Colin Dunagan, children of Kevin and Jennifer Dunagan.

As with all of us, Hazel's early years were shaped by her family, the era, and by events that were local, national, and international. Her life began in a farmhouse near Kearney, Nebraska. Her parents, William and Lillian Fester, were born in 1898 and grew up over the hill from each other. Her father's mother was an immigrant from England, and her mother's mother died when Hazel's mother was only three, leaving seven young children.

Rural Nebraska in 1923 was a completely different era in this country's history, at least for the Fester family. Light at night was provided by kerosene lamps, water was drawn from a well, fuel for the stove was corn cobs, bedrooms were unheated, soap was made at home, land was plowed with horses, and chickens were essential to provide eggs, meat, and spending money. Collectively farmers moved from farm to farm to help each other slaughter a cow or pig to provide food for the following year. "Media" consisted of a local newspaper and a radio that ran on batteries used sparingly only for news. The comforts of central heat, electricity, running water, and indoor plumbing were not features of their daily lives.

While she was still quite young, Hazel's family moved to western Nebraska from the central part of the state. What followed was the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. During the Depression, Hazel recalled unemployed men wandering down the road, knocking at the door and asking for food or work. During the Dust Bowl, Hazel would set the table with plates and glasses upside down so that dust didn't settle before food was served. They also endured seven years of hail that destroyed their crops, and the family's food supplies consisted almost entirely of eggs and potatoes. She vividly remembered the day her father transitioned from farming with horses to a tractor and the broad smile on his face as he drove the tractor into sight of the farmhouse.

Hazel attended a one-room country school in Hemingford, Nebraska, from grade school through junior high. Then she boarded in town during the week to attend high school in Alliance, Nebraska. Hazel graduated in 1940 at sixteen and taught for a year in a one-room, sod school house. The next year, she began working in town at Montgomery Wards. She remembered it as one of the happiest periods of her life. One of her closest lifetime friendships was formed with Pearl Mason, her work colleague at Wards.

The next episode of Hazel's life was shaped by events happening on the other side of the world. After the United States entered World War II in 1941, a young man from Musella, Georgia named Claude Dunagan was drafted and eventually stationed at the military base in Alliance, which is how they met. Hazel's mother Lillie would recount the story of Claude asking her and her husband for permission to ask Hazel for her hand in marriage. They never regretted giving their blessing to the union.

Six months later, Hazel and Claude were married on November 18, 1944. For the next thirty years, Claude proudly served his country, first in the Army, then in the Air Force. During those thirty years, they were stationed in Nebraska, Colorado, Missouri, South Dakota, Germany, Idaho, and Arkansas. Claude was also stationed for a year in Thailand during the Vietnam War.

During that time, they also raised their children, Benjamin Glen and Claudia Jane. The transient life of the military gave the family exposure to a range of cultures, both domestic and international. Hazel grew to love the experiences, especially the family's time in Europe during the 1950's, a period not so long after World War II. War ruins were everywhere, and the recent past became living history for the family.

One of the challenges of military life can be the absence of extended family.  For a magical three months after their return to the United States, Hazel and the children got to live with her parents on their farm in Nebraska. The bond between generations was sealed through the experiences of that time.

Claude and Hazel held many shared values, and one of those was a commitment to family. For decades, Claude worked a second job to guarantee the children could go to college. Hazel managed the home and spent little, with the same goal in mind. Three years apart, both children graduated from Mountain Home High School in Idaho and Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Having given their children an education, Hazel had the time and finances to make a modest but beautiful home, which she kept immaculately. Coming from humble beginnings, she so enjoyed the environment she created and shared with family and friends. It was a source of pride for both Claude and Hazel to have their home and to dress well and to look their best.

For twenty-five years, Hazel also took pride in working for the United States Civil Service, primarily for accounting and finance. She enjoyed being a valuable member of a team, and she took particular pleasure in the humor created by and with young airmen from all parts of the country. Hazel was an ardent sports fan, particularly football, basketball, and tennis. On Monday mornings when everyone in the office met and discussed the feats or defeats of their favorite teams, Hazel was relied on as the one who knew the facts and remembered the names and often the personal stories of individual players. She conveyed her enjoyment of those times throughout her later years.

As they settled into their retirement after 1989, they took the opportunity to visit family and friends, as well as to travel with friends from their younger days. Perhaps nurtured by their time in the military and having actively participated in this country's history, a favorite pastime became visiting presidential libraries and reading biographies and autobiographies of presidents. Their shared interests led to a knowledge of this country's rich, complex, and often difficult history. Nearly all of their beliefs and values remained unspoken, but underneath was a deep belief in the founding principles of the nation — especially that we are all created equal. Those values were deeply held and reflected in their treatment of all people they encountered.

Although Hazel didn't engage in discussions of current topics, she was well-informed and for the most part kept her beliefs and opinions to herself. She read the newspaper daily and watched network news every evening. Her interests ranged from national and international events to movies and fashion, to local road construction and schools.

If she had a motto, it might have been "Never late, always prepared." She was a planner who didn't want things left up to chance. The result was a home and daily life with order and predictability. As they became seniors, she and Claude planned the next stage of their lives. They left their home and enjoyed time with other retired couples in independent living. After Claude passed, she enjoyed time with other retirees in assisted living. Her final move was to Rhode Island, where she lived with her daughter for her remaining 4.5 years. She enjoyed new friends, the first dog in her life, and repeated visits from family. She arranged her bedroom walls and bureaus so that she was surrounded by photos of her husband, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Directly in front of her chair in the living room sat pictures of her great-grandchildren. Although she could no longer be an active part of their lives or of their parents, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren were ever present. She knew she would not be here to share their futures, but wanted the very best for all of them.

During her final fifteen months of life, she was assisted at home by Hope Health, an exceptional hospice organization in Rhode Island. Their wonderful care-taking contributed so much to the quality of Hazel's final days.

We all hope that in those final days Hazel knew that she was loved and that her life was unique, special, and valuable. A life very well lived.

If anyone wishes to contribute in honor of Hazel Dunagan, we would encourage contributing to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society or Hope for Hazel, a non-profit for children with cystic fibrosis.