Obituary of Hazel Sanders

Hazel L. Sanders of Cambridge, MN, passed away at 90 years of age on January 27, 2011 at Cambridge Medical Center. Hazel LuVerna Anderson, the younger of two children, was born on August 19, 1920 to Sidney and Alice Anderson on Cedar Hill Farm near Upsala, Minnesota. She attended elementary school in Upsala and was confirmed at Upsala Covenant Church. She graduated from Little Falls High School in 1938 and was baptized as a teenager at First Baptist Church in Little Falls. Hazel attended Northwestern College in Minneapolis where she studied Christian education and sang in a women's trio. At Northwestern, Hazel met her future husband, Harold A. Sanders, Sr., and they were married on April 5, 1941. For 55 years, they faithfully served churches in Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois. She enjoyed many activities that come with being a pastor's wife; and, as the mother of nine children, she found time to be a Cub Scout den mother, arrange "theme" birthday parties, and direct Christmas programs. She made each of her children feel special as she cared for them and exemplified her Christian faith. Her culinary skills were appreciated at 4-H and church camps, and she enjoyed entertaining missionaries and other guests. She catered smorgasbords for churches and civic groups. She frequently spoke at women's events and for other organizations. When her husband became dean of men at Grace University in Omaha, Hazel served on the school's public affairs staff where she scheduled engagements for the school's music groups and faculty. She delighted in mentoring women students and joined her husband in entertaining and counseling engaged and newly-married students. In 1987 the couple moved to the community where Hazel spent her childhood, retiring to their home on Pine Lake near Upsala. She chaired the Upsala Senior Center board of directors, was involved in other community activities, and participated in the Congregational Church in rural South Elmdale, MN where her husband was interim pastor. Following the death of her husband in 1996, Hazel moved to Mill Ridge Commons in Cambridge, MN. She became a member of First Baptist Church, Cambridge, and was active in the Seniors' Sunday School class and missions prayer group. Hazel was preceded in death by her parents; husband, the Rev. Harold A. Sanders, Sr.; son, Mark; and brother, the Rev. Raymond Anderson. She is survived by daughters, Mavis Sanders, of Winfield, IL; Alice (Thomas) Hamilton, of Greendale, WI; and sons, Harold "Hal" (Diane) Sanders, of Brooklyn Park, MN; Dr. Paul Sanders (Gretchen), of Cambridge, MN; David (Marsha) Sanders, of Cedar Rapids, IA; the Rev. Dr. John (Delores) Sanders, of Redondo Beach, CA; the Rev. James (Jo Ann) Sanders and Thomas (Marianne) Sanders, of Minneapolis, MN, daughter-in-law, Dr. Susan (Mark Sanders) McClure, of Tucson, AZ; sisters-in-law Elaine (Raymond) Anderson, of Lancaster, CA and Gladys (Wallace) Sanders, of Oelwein, IA; 20 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, several nieces and nephews, and countless friends.