Mrs. Hazel Christine (Hatchett) Clarke

HATCHETT-CLARKE, Mrs. Hazel Christine - Age 98, passed away Wednesday, June 8, 2016 at her residence. Family hour 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 14, 2016 at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, G-5443 Saginaw St., with funeral service commencing at 11:00 a.m. Pastor Alfred L. Harris officiating. Interment Flint Memorial Park Cemetery, G-9506 N. Dort Hwy., Mt. Morris, MI. Friends and pallbearers will assemble at the church 10:00 a.m. Tuesday. Mrs. Clarke will lie in state in the Chapel of Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home, 906 W. Flint Park Blvd., and may be viewed 2:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Monday with family present to receive friends from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Mrs. Hazel Christine (Hatchett) Clarke was born March 18, 1918, in Yazoo City, Mississippi, the daughter of Mr. & Mrs. King David, Sr. and Viola (Jones) Hatchett. Mrs. Clarke found Christ at an early age while attending Rose Baptist Church with her parents. She married her childhood sweetheart, Fred Clarke, Jr. in 1936 in Mississippi and they lived there several years before moving to Flint, Michigan for better opportunities for their young family. They remained a devoted couple for 65 years until the time of his death. After moving to Flint in 1945, Hazel soon became a member of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church and attended regularly until the time of her illness. Mrs. Clarke worked at McLaren Regional Center-Flint for many years before retiring. She was a resident of Flint until her husband’s death when she moved to Mt. Morris. When she was no longer able to care for herself, she moved in with her daughter and remained there until the time of her death. She was a kind, generous and a loving person and found peace, solace and inspiration in reading her bible daily. She never failed to get on her knees to pray before retiring for the night. She always made time for family and friends in their time of need, always doing the right thing and expected the same of others. After moving to Flint, her younger siblings soon followed her. She became their matriarch, and they would visit her for advice, her desserts and fried chicken. She loved the beauty of flowers, and was an avid gardener. Ma Dear will be missed by her family as she was an exemplary wife, mother and grandmother and will always remain in the hearts of her loved ones. Mrs. Hazel C. Clarke leaves to cherish her memory: daughter, Eddie Lee (Clarke) Sanders, son, Henry (Jane) Clark; granddaughters, Tamara Sanders, Carla Clark; grandson Henry Clark, Jr.; brother, King D. Hatchett; a host of nieces and nephews including, Nat Lee & Gwen Chapman of Mississippi; Vickie (Osborne) Tucker, Bobby Wilkerson, Camelia Webster and “niece”, Pat Luckett. Mrs. Clarke was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Carrie Bell Watts, Alice Stutts, Dicey Claiborne, Daisy Osborne; brother, James Hatchett and son-in-law, Samuel Sanders. “Many are the women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all.” Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Acclaim her for the work of her hands, and let her deeds praise her at the city gates. Proverbs 31:29-31 (NABRE)

Mrs. Hazel Christine (Hatchett) Clarke

March 18, 1918 - June 8, 2016