Hazel J. Dozier

September 26, 1925 – October 15, 2020

Hazel J. Dozier, 95, of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, passed away on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. Hazel was of the Baptist faith, loved spending time with her family, writing poetry and reading all types of literature and enjoyed international travel and shopping.

Hazel was born in Wybark, Oklahoma, on Sept. 26, 1925, to the union of Wallace Owens Sr. and Sarah Evans Owens.

Hazel graduated from DuBois High School in Summit, Oklahoma, and attended Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma, where she received a BA degree in English with a minor in foreign language. Hazel was a member of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority.

Hazel had a love for poetry and literature and studied under the acclaimed professor Melvin B. Tolson (famously portrayed by Denzel Washington in the movie “Great Debaters”). She was a devout reader of Langston Hughes, William Shakespeare, Maya Angelou and James Weldon Johnson and gave poetry recitations to churches and social gatherings. Her favorite poem is “The Creation” by James Weldon Johnson. Over the years, several of Hazel’s original poems have been featured in national publications.

In 1950 she married Sylvester Dozier Jr. and moved to Oklahoma City where she was employed as a practical nurse at University Hospital. After nursing, Hazel began her teaching career at John F. Kennedy Junior High School where she was one of the first faculty members to teach at that school. Later she was re-assigned to Hoover Junior High School where she became the first African American teacher to integrate their faculty.

After leaving Hoover Junior High School she and her husband and two children moved to Moses Lake, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. In Moses Lake, Hazel taught at Frontier Junior High School and Chief Moses Junior High School for 17 years. She also served on the Police Advisory Board and the city council and was a member of the Washington Education Association (WEA) and the National Education Association (NEA).

After many years back in Oklahoma, in 2017 she moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to be closer to her children.

Hazel is preceded in death by her husband, Sylvester Dozier Jr. She is survived by her son Dwight D. Dozier, daughter Shelly Dozier-McKee (Eugene); brothers Wallace Owens Jr. (Carolyn) and Alvin Owens (Carmel) and grandchild Derek D. Dozier.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.crowellbrothers.com. Arrangements are entrusted to Crowell Brothers Funeral Homes & Crematory, 5051 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Peachtree Corners, Georgia, 770-448-5757.

Arrangements are still being finalized for an online virtual memorial.