Hazel E. Hutchins

Florence -Hazel Evelyn Boyle Muller Hutchins passed on September 14, 2017 at home in the loving presence of her family. Hazel E. Hutchins, nee Boyle was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, on May 25, 1923 to Horace and Harriet Boyle. She was the eldest child of millworkers. Her mother joined the little Seventh-Day Adventist church in Burrillville, when Hazel was a young child and that formed the foundation of her life.  Hazel was the first person in her family to attend college and completed an RN in nursing from Atlantic Union College in South Lancaster, MA and the New England Sanitarium and Hospital in Stoneham, MA. She went on to receive a BS in nursing from Boston University and an M.Ed. from Fitchburg State College. Hazel lived most of her adult life in New England and worked as a nursing teacher for the Seventh Day Adventist church in Stoneham and South Lancaster, MA and Denver, Colorado, and at an LPN program at a technical high school.

Hazel was devoted to her family, her career as a teacher and her church. She was married to George Muller with whom she had three daughters. Although divorced in the 1970’s, they remained loving friends. A second marriage took her to Maine and western North Carolina, where she enjoyed living in other rural communities, the fellowship of her church members, and a circle of friends formed through her different “exercise groups”. Hazel loved to travel and in her later years enjoyed a number of cruises to Panama, Bermuda, Scandinavia, and other parts of Europe.

In 2004, she returned north to be near her children. Hazel lived in Florence for her remaining 13 years.  She enjoyed the Tobin Manor senior housing community, fellowship provided by the Florence Seventh Day Adventist Church and attended many classes and bus trips through the Northampton Senior Center. Hazel was a firm believer in healthy eating and exercise. She was funny, and good-natured. She never passed up an offer to go out to breakfast, and enjoyed her beloved dark chocolate as a “last food”.  Hazel stayed active until her 94th year, when a fall precipitated her decline. She spent her final months at home, well cared for by her family and friends, a wonderful team of aides and hospice providers and her dear “foster daughter” Dr. Sarah.

Hazel is survived by her children Rebecca Muller of Florence, MA; Susanne Biondi (Jim) of Stewart, FL, and Rachele Bachowski (Steve) of Springfield, OH, and her grandchildren, Sara Muller-Ravett (Northampton, MA), Chaim Muller-Ravett (Waltham, MA), Zachary and Molly Cayer, (Bozeman, MT) and Alison and Stephen Bachowski (Springfield, OH), and the Kirk and Aiello family nieces and nephews, Georgia, David and Robert Cluff and their families.

A celebration of life service will be held at 11 a.m. on Sunday, October 8th at the Seventh Day Adventist Church, 35 North Main Street, Florence, MA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to one of the following charitable organizations:  the Florence Seventh Day Adventist Church, the Northampton Senior Center or Hospice of Hampshire County.

New England Funeral & Cremation Center, LLC, 25 Mill Street, Springfield, MA assisted the family. www.nefcc.net