Hazel Junia Brown Gearheart
Hazel Junia Brown Gearheart, 97, was born Sept. 17, 1927, the youngest child of Clarence Ray Brown and Laura Bertha (Clinkingbeard) Brown in their farmhouse near Chinook, Mont. She was a child of the Depression who learned frugality and hard work in the dairy and gardens, surrounded by love, on the family farm.
Her journey in life would soon be accompanied by a town boy in Chinook. Lynn (Len) Gearheart was her high school sweetheart. They married in Pullman, Wash., on Oct. 20, 1950, after his service in WWII and her graduation from college in Havre, Mont. Their married life continued over the years in farming in Sunnyside, Othello, Mattawa and the Tri-Cities in Washington state. Two daughters and a son were born early on: Susan, Vicki and Scott.
Education was important to Hazel. She graduated Valedictorian from her high school class in Chinook in 1945. She attended Northern Montana College (now Montana State University — Northern) obtaining a Medical Secretary Certificate two years later. She later established two scholarships at this college to benefit native Montanans and indigenous students. One of her goals in life was for her children to become college graduates. Consequently, all three graduated from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
Hazel used her education to work in hospitals wherever she lived, most notably in Othello where she cultivated relationships with the doctors and staff over many years. She had an active brain and a dry wit which was appreciated by those who took the time to get to know her.
Music was an important part of Hazel’s life. She had a beautiful singing voice, harmonizing with school, church and community choirs as often as she could. She was an accomplished pianist and taught her children to love and appreciate music.
She was a woman of faith, serving and contributing to many humanitarian causes as a member of the Methodist Church. Hazel was a staunch Republican all her life and loved her country.
Hazel loved learning about the world and enjoyed traveling and she passed this love on to her children.
Hazel was an independent woman with a private nature who reached beyond herself to be a loving mother to her children and grandchildren and a compassionate neighbor and friend. Her kind and gentle demeanor was apparent to all.
Hazel is survived by her children, Susan Piercy (Gary) of Royal City, Wash.; Victoria Paxton (Larry) of Saratoga Springs, Utah; and Scott Gearheart (Cindy) of Kennewick; 14 grandchildren Ryan Piercy, Natalie Van Buren, Elizabeth Bighorse, Spencer Piercy, Jill Larsen, Christopher Gearheart, Hannah Bonham, Madeline, Sadie, Matthew, and Miriam Gearheart, Bethany Paxton and Laura Perdue; and 25 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews, including Vivian Sawyer who wrote to her faithfully.
She was preceded in death by Lynn (Len) J. Gearheart, her husband of 69 years in 2019, her parents and siblings Ray, Doyne and Eugene.
The family would like to thank the staff at Parkview, Village View, and Chaplaincy Hospice for their care of our mother.
Memorial services will be held Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, at 11 a.m. at the Hansen Park LDS Church, 8120 W. Fourth Ave., Kennewick, Wash., with an inurnment at 2:30 p.m. at Sunset Memorial Gardens, Richland.
Hazel was a child of the Great Depression and thus learned the value of hard work and education, which she passed on to her children.