Hazel worked hard all her life, starting at age 16, when she left home to find work in Nelson. For many years she worked doing manual labor: laundry, farming, prospecting, cooking, field work, and working in a cannery.

It was Earl's request for help from the State Rehabilitation Service that landed Hazel in business college in Walla Walla. After that, she was able to get clerical work. She started out at the Grange in Kennewick, WA, then worked as a clerk in McCaw Hospital.

When McCaw Hospital closed, Hazel was offered a promotion and transfer to the San Francisco Army Hospital, but she chose to stay in Walla Walla for the sake of the boys. Instead, she transferred to the V.A. Hospital where Earl had lived. She worked for the V.A. hospital for 28 years, receiving many honors and promotions for her dedicated work.

"At work I gradually made my way up the career ladder. I didn't think too much about it. I just concentrated on doing the very best I could in whatever job I had. The boys and their welfare was my main concern. And in doing my best for them, I guess I helped myself also.

"I started as a clerk-typist at $1,440.00 a year. I retired as a Personnel Management Specialist at better than $12,000 a year. I was very, very fortunate."

After she retired, Hazel didn't slow down. She picked up writing, and by the time she turned 80, she had authored seven books, which she self-published. The first, The Good George, was a biography of her father's life.