Hazel Walker, 92

May 17, 1933 - 

July 8, 2025

 

 CRESCO - Hazel Esther Walker, 92, of Cresco, passed away peacefully on July 8, 2025 at the Evans  Memorial Home in Cresco.

Hazel was born on May 17, 1933, in Cresco to Arthur and Lydia (Webber) Wentworth. She was among the youngest of nine children. Hazel and her twin sister, Helen, were inseparable as children and best friends and confidants as adults.

Hazel graduated from Cresco High School in 1951. After graduation, she became a young farm wife, and she thoroughly embraced country living. She raised chickens and tended a huge garden. She prepared meals for hired hands, complete with homemade bread and pies. She was perhaps the happiest in her life while raising her four daughters on the farm.

When Hazel suddenly became a widow, she moved her young family to Cresco. By chance, she reacquainted with a high school classmate, Bill Walker. This started a new chapter. She and Bill were married on December 31, 1971. They were married for 53 years. Hazel and Bill were blessed with a blended family. Together, they had seven girls. With seven children and their friends, Hazel never knew who was going to show up for dinner. She took it all in and enjoyed her busy household.

Hazel had many talents. She was a skilled hairdresser and sewed beautiful clothing. She loved ballroom dancing, especially waltzes. She and Bill spent many hours at the Cresco Bowling Alley, and Hazel won many trophies and tournaments. She was an excellent cook, and she had a knack for making everything extra special for her family during the holidays. She was a member of the Ladies Circle at First Lutheran Church and the American Legion Auxiliary.

Hazel was baptized into the Christian faith at the First Baptist Church in Cresco, and she later joined the First Lutheran Church with Bill. She taught Sunday School and Bible School for many years. Her greatest legacy to her family was her faith and teaching her children to pray. Her children and grandchildren may never know the miracles in their lives because of her prayers.

Hazel is survived by her four daughters: Shirley (Dave) Sovereign, Linda (Gary) Platz, Jane

(John) Gadow, and Janice (Randall) Croat; Bill’s daughters Lorna Kinney and Lisa Walker; ten grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

Hazel was preceded in death by her parents, husband Bill, step-daughter Rhonda Walker; five sisters: Dorothy Slifka, Mary (Robert) Walton, Eleanor (Dan) Tupy, and Betty (Elmer) Farghum,

Helen Fuller, and three brothers: Floyd (Alma), Roger (Lorrine), and Gene Wentworth.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Howard County Community Hospice, First

Lutheran Church, or Evans Memorial Home Activities Fund.

Memorial services will be held at 11:00am on Saturday, July 26, 2025 at First Lutheran Church in Cresco.  Visitation will begin one hour prior to services at the church on Saturday morning. Burial will take place at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Cresco. Schmelzer Funeral Home in Cresco is handling arrangements.