While I was attending the NGS Conference in St. Charles, Missouri, I received the news that my long-term executive secretary, Hazel Mills, had passed away that day, May 15, 2015, in Puyallup, Washington. Many of my readers will remember Hazel as the lady who set up and coordinated my speaking engagements from 1987 through 2005 – doing all this after she had already reached retirement age. Hazel was an amazing woman, and became an “adopted” member of the Meitzler family.
Sometime in 1986 I placed an ad in our local newspaper stating that I was looking for an executive secretary. I stated in the ad that I wanted someone who could type, take shorthand, and keep me organized. Hours later, Hazel walked through the door of the Heritage Quest operation on Washington Avenue in Orting. She said something like “I’m not young, but I can type 85 words a minute, take shorthand, and have lots of experience keeping my boss on track. Will I do?” I stammered a bit, but quickly told her I thought she’d do just fine. And that began a long relationship with Hazel – she was not only my secretary, but quickly became invaluable to us in that she knew how to work with folks, and the media. And she was our friend, almost like another mother to me. She personally scheduled over 1500 speaking appearances for me. For a while she also set up speaking appointments for Bill Dollarhide and Dewayne Lener.
As seems to be almost normal in my life, I was again away on business when someone important in my life was in the process of leaving us. However, I’m pleased that my niece, Christina Meitzler, was there to hold Hazel’s hand, sing to her and help her make the transition. R.I.P. Hazel Juhl Mills – my dear friend.
