Hazel A. McAlear, 84

Hazel A. McAlear passed peacefully of natural causes on Jan. 24, 2022, at St. Joseph Hospital in Polson. She was 84. She was born Sept. 14, 1937 to Bruce E. Gold Sr. and Sylvia (Walter) Gold in Tulsa, Okla. While in grade school the family moved to Independence, Mo. One of her early memories is trick or treating at age 8 at the personal home of then-President Harry S. Truman and receiving a dime from a Secret Service agent. Several years later the family moved to Plattsmouth, Neb. Listed in her high school yearbook as “Small in stature, but Great in mind,” she graduated as class valedictorian in 1955.

Vacation trips to the Oregon Coast prompted a move to Portland, where she was employed as a legal secretary. It was there that she met and married Keith McAlear in 1959. Over the next decade she continued to work and start a family in Oregon. The family relocated in 1970 to Polson, where Hazel began working for the Polson School District from 1975 through her retirement in 2006.

Hazel was involved with many of her children’s activities, including serving as a leader for Cub Scouts and Camp Fire Girls. She was also involved in community organizations such as the Polson Jaycees. She taught many in the community over the years in her adult education computer classes. As a chaperone for the high school ski bus, she took up snow skiing in her late 30s. She enjoyed travel, and particularly trips up to Glacier Park. Mother’s Day drives around the lake and viewing the cherry blossoms were favorites. But without a doubt, her favorite pastime was spending summer afternoons at the beach on Flathead Lake with her chair and a good book. Her spot there may now be empty, but her memory will forever live on.

Hazel was preceded in death by her husband, Keith McAlear; parents Bruce Sr. and Sylvia Gold; stepmother Betty Gold; sister Patty Juliff and husband Ed; sister-in-law Norma McAlear; brothers-in-law Bill Thomas and Bill Lovell; and nephew David Gold.

She is survived by her children: Doug, Polson; Diane and husband Mike Bolduc, Austin, Texas; brother Bruce Jr. (Lila) Gold, Baton Rouge, La.; brother Steve (Jeanne) Gold, Corona, Calif.; sister Janet Gartlan, Baton Rouge; sister-in-law Eunice Thomas, Alameda, Calif.; sister-in-law Carole Lovell, Missoula; and many treasured nieces and nephews.

Graveside services will be held later this spring or summer. The family would also like to thank the staffs at St. Joseph’s and St. Patrick’s Hospitals for all the care and devotion they provided to “Miss Hazel” during the past few months. Messages of condolences may be shared with the family at www.lakefuneralhomeandcremation.com.

Arrangements are under the care of The Lake Funeral Home and Crematory.