Margie Hazlett
June 12, 1922 - May 27, 2018

Margie "Marge" Kathryn Hazlett, a long time resident of Borger, passed away in hospice care at 4:00 p.m.,Sunday, May 27th, 2018, in Lubbock at the age of 95.

Marge spent most of her life in Borger before moving away in 2002. She was living in Lubbock at the time of her death.

Margie Kathryn (Kelln) Hazlett was born June 12th, 1922, in Canadian, Texas, to John A. Kelln and Mollie (Laubhan) Kelln, Russian immigrants. Margie attended Canadian High School where she enjoyed many activities including being a drum majorette in the band. She graduated from Canadian High School in 1944 and worked for an architecture firm during World War II. She married the love of her life U.S. Army Air Force Lieutenant Alvin Guy Hazlett on September 8th, 1945. Margie graduated from Frank Phillips College in 1991 with an Associate's Degree in Art.

Marge had an unwavering faith in God. She was a past member of the First Baptist Church of Borger. Margie was an accomplished artist, seamstress, cook, and musician and calligrapher. She enjoyed painting with both oils and acrylic paints, and many of her numerous paintings are in the homes of family and friends. Mrs. Hazlett was a member of the Eastern Star. She played the organ and the piano and was a member of the Craig Methodist Choir in Amarillo where she resided before moving to Lubbock.

Marge also quilted and made individual quilts for many of her children and grandchildren. She had a wonderful smile that put everyone in a room at ease. She will truly be missed.

She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Judge Hazlett in 1994; her parents; all of her 5 sisters and 4 brothers, Elsie Turner, Martha Nitschke, Mayme Laubhan, Bertha Laubhan, Josephine Bagwell Gentili, John Robert Kelln, David Adam Kelln, William Kelln, and Benjamin Franklin Kelln; and one great-granddaughter, Emily Hazlett.

Marge is survived by: a daughter, Kandice Ballman and her husband Clay of Lubbock; 2 sons: Alvin Guy Hazlett, II and his wife Trudy of Euless and Michael Howard Hazlett and wife Hazel of Gainesville, Florida; 9 grandchildren: Conrad Ballman, Cameron Ballman, Chance Ballman, Patrick Hazlett and his wife, Curtis Hazlett and his wife, Robert Guy Hazlett and his wife, Angela Craven and her husband, Christopher Hazlett, Rebekah Knudsen and her husband, 12 great-grandchildren, 4 great-great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends on Friday, June 1 from 5:00 PM- 7:00 PM at Brown's Chapel of the Fountains. A funeral service honoring her long and beautiful life will be held Saturday, June 2, 2018 at 2:00 PM at Brown's Chapel of the Fountains, Borger, with Pastor Bobby Bridges officiating. Interment will follow at Westlawn Cemetery, Borger.

For I am persuaded, that neither life, nor angel, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:Verses 38 and 39

Services are entrusted to Brown Funeral Directors, Borger.

(Published by Brown Funeral Directors, Monday, May 28, 2018)
-----

I was born Alvin Guy Hazlett, the son of Howard A. and Lydia Hazlett of Glazier, Texas, July 15, 1923. I grew up in that small metropolis and graduated from High School at Canadian in 1940. My father was a Santa Fe Agent there.

From Canadian I went to West Texas State College and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree. I joined the Air Force during World War II. While flying the lead plane of a 36 plane flying mission in February, 1945 over Germany, the first time since I began flying as a pilot, gunfire blew the right wing off the plane.

We had to parachute, the first and last time I've ever parachuted, seven of our eleven man crew lost their lives. My chute didn't open until the second time I pulled the cord.

They captured me four hours after I landed. I was placed in solitary confinement for a month and interrogated.

My imprisonment as a POW lasted three months. During that time I went from 185 pounds to 135 pounds. Our food consisted of one or two Red Cross Parcels and a bread that was made with synthetic substances and sawdust. One loaf was stamped with the year, three years old, before I got it. The days seemed like weeks. Though I wrote home, the letters didn't arrive till after I had returned.

Being in a POW camp made me appreciate the American way of life, and I felt like I'd never complain again if I got out okay. I even thought I'd welcome food from a genuine American garbage can.

I'll always remember the day we were liberated. General George Patton rolled through the prison camp wearing a white helmet and riding a tank. I was so scared because we always heard that Patton said "POW's" should get combat medals with yellow stripes down the middle. But he was real nice, and the movie 'Patton' was very real.

The most memorable moment of all was the day we were liberated, and they ran an American flag up on the pole beside the church. The major standing next to me cried like a baby. It was a beautiful sight.

When I got home I married Margie Kelln.

Margie's mother, Mollie Laubhan Kelln, grew up in a village on the Volga River, near Moscow, Russia. Her father, John Kelln was a native of Holstein, Germany.

As a matter of fact, Margie's family had a town in Germany named for them way back. Koln, the original German spelling of their name, or Cologne the French adaptation as it is known here. Margie's family changed the spelling with their entrance into the U.S.A.

Her grandfather Laubhan gathered his family together and took them out of Russia during the time of Bolsheviks. He was a miller and her grandmother was a talented dress maker. They first came to Marion, Kansas, and then moved to Shattuck, Oklahoma, where Margie still has many relatives.

When her parents married, they moved to Lipscomb County, Texas. Her mother died in 1963 and her father in 1971. Margie remembers that she had to learn to speak Russian and German as a pre-school child and can still converse in those languages with her relatives.

Margie grew up on a ranch near Canadian, one of the ten children of John and Mollie Kelln. She played the trumpet in the high school band and was a majorette. After graduation she went to Amarillo to attend a business school and took classes at Musical Arts Conservatory. She worked as a secretary for the Amarillo architect who designed the Air Force Base, Bunavista Village, and other government war-time installations.

Margie attended West Texas State University in 1946 and 1947, majoring in music. Then we went to Baylor University School of Law, where I graduated with a Doctorate of Jurisprudence in 1949.

When I first came to Borger to practice law in 1950, I was in partnership for several years with Kenneth Lawing on Sixth Street. During those years I served as State Representative for the 86th Legislative District of Texas from 1953 to 1957.

In 1962 I became the Second Judge of the Court of Domestic Relations in Hutchinson County, Texas. This post I had created while in the legislature and H.M. Hood had been Hutchinson County's first Domestic Relations Judge. During these years I was selected to join a group of 30 American businessmen and leaders from the Southern United States to undertake a specially planned fact-finding mission in Israel.

In 1979 The Court of Domestic Relations was eliminated and I became district Judge for the 316th Judicial District Court of Texas serving in Hutchinson County. This Court expansion gives this County additional judicial strength it has needed since most of the work of the district is here.

Margie and I have had three children during these years.

Guy Hazlett II was born in 1947. Guy received a Bachelor of Science and a Masters Degree from West Texas State University and attended Law School at Tech. He worked in administrative department of the School of Medicine Hospital in Lubbock and is now Hospital Administrator for Highland General in Pampa.

Guy married the former Beverly Bell of Borger and they have two children, Robbie Guy and Angela.

Our son, Michael Hazlett was born in 1951, and his wife is the former Hazel Boyd of Borger. Both of them have been listed in Outstanding Young Men and Women Publication. Mike is now in Austin, Texas, where he is employed in the Governor's Executive Office. They have a daughter Rebekah.

Our daughter, Kandice is now a lovely young high school student at Borger High and quite active in Music. She is a member of the High School Varsity Choir and the Show Choir and the Thespian Drama Club.

I have also been active as a Mason over the years, and am now serving as District DeMolay Governor. I have kept up with my professional organizations and judicials meetings over the years.

Margie has had many interests. She is an organist and pianist and has done some oil painting and is a versatile cook. She has even taken to composing music. She has also taken courses in landscaping and decorating and has studied nutrition. She has been active in Eastern Star and is a member of the Borger Music Club.

The Panhandle of Texas has been our home since birth, and has proven a good place to live, work and raise a family. It is a place to grow and be nurtured in, and has proven a kind home to this Texan.

Submitted by Judge Guy Hazlett for inclusion in 'History of Hutchinson County Texas, 104 Years, 1876-1980,' Copyright 1980 by the Hutchinson County Historical Commission, 1st Printing.