Hazel King Heaton

Hazel passed away at 7:20 a.m. on Monday, August 2, 2010, at age 83. She died peacefully in her sleep from respiratory failure while she was in hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease at Harbor Chase of Aiken, South Carolina. Hazel Christine King was born on March 27, 1927 at her home in Comer, Georgia. She was the daughter of Irene Guest and Herbert King. After moving to Anderson, South Carolina, she attended Anderson Elementary School and graduated from Anderson Girl’s High School in 1944. She then attended Anderson College, where she represented her class on the student council and was a member of the field hockey team. She graduated with a Secretarial Diploma in 1946. She immediately found work with a prominent attorney and with the Red Cross. Hazel married Clyde S. Heaton, also of Anderson, in 1947. They moved to Mattoon, Illinois, where they began a family. She gave birth to Michael King Heaton in 1951 and to Judy Leigh Heaton in 1953. She was active in the First Methodist Church in Mattoon, and had the spotlight during the Christmas ceremony every year, when she sang Sweet Little Jesus Boy. She was active in all of the school activities involving her children, including being a den mother for the Girl Scouts. She became a championship golfer during this time, winning numerous tournaments, and was active in Community Theater, where she starred in the musical production, Dirty Work at the Crossroads. Clyde, Hazel, Mike, and Judy moved to Marion, Illinois in 1965, where they lived until Clyde was promoted to Vice President of Public Relations at Central Illinois Public Service Company in Springfield, Illinois. They lived there until Clyde’s retirement in 1989. They then moved to Aiken, South Carolina. Not only was Hazel a championship golfer, but she was an exceptionally skilled seamstress, having a rare eye for detail, which allowed her to make clothes, curtains, upholster furniture, and make costumes for plays. She collected antiques and became very skilled at refinishing furniture. She always stayed active in the First Methodist Church, singing in the church choir, and acting in community plays. Preceding Hazel in death were her parents, Herbert King and Irene King Crenshaw, and two brothers, Donald King and James King. Surviving are Hazel’s two children, Michael Heaton and Judy Wright, both of Aiken, South Carolina, and one grandson, Jonathan Wright, of Graniteville, South Carolina. Arrangements will be announced by Shellhouse Funeral Home, Inc., 924 Hayne Ave., Aiken, SC To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Hazel King Heaton, please visit our flower store.