A bench in memory of Bill Hazel has been erected on Massachusetts Avenue near the Bromfield School entrance, where visitors can sit to take in the grand view of the town library, the green playing fields, and Bare Hill Pond glinting beyond them. “This is where Dad used to always park his car to watch us play sports,” said his son, Bob Hazel, who is also the stonemason who designed and built the bench. The granite bench was commissioned by the Harvard Lions Club, of which Bill was a prominent member for 31 years before his death in 2014. The inscription on the bench reads, “In Memory of Bill Hazel and his Dedication to Community Service.”
From left: Suzanne Dutkewych, Dmitri Dutkewych, Darlene Hazel, Jennifer Hazel Dowling, John Dowling, Natalia Dutkewych, Nancy Hazel, Bob Hazel, Nick Hazel, David Hazel, Gina Hazel, Lindsey Hazel, Alexandra Dutkewych, Nate Dutkewych, and Scott Comstock. (Photos by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Many Lions remember Bill as the “unofficial mayor of Harvard,” who hosted the club’s annual Fall Festival on his family’s farm. “He was so kind, always contributing and helping,” said Lions President Sue Reedich, whether it was as a talented salesman who sold more than a hundred cases of grapefruit during the club’s annual fruit sales, or his self-appointed task of putting bales of hay at the bottom of the Common each winter so kids sledding down the hill wouldn’t fly out into traffic.
Nancy Hazel and her son Bob react to a funny rememberance of Bill.
It was Bill’s innate desire to help people and be involved that drew him to the Lions Club, his wife Nancy recalled this week in a phone interview. “He felt it was such a worthy club, the way they gave back to the community,” she said. “That was the way he was, too, so he felt quite comfortable with them. It’s really noteworthy that there is a club in town that is so dedicated.”
A community effort
Installing the bench was a true community labor of love: The Lions provided the funds, the DPW helped remove some boulders from the site, and the club received support from multiple town boards and committees. And on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Lions, friends and members of Bill’s family gathered to dedicate the bench, whose seating area is lined with granite pavers and cobblestones, and was encircled for the occasion with fall mums. Among the family members present were his wife, Nancy, his children, Bob and David Hazel and Suzanne Dutkewych, and seven grandchildren (see photo above).
The inscription on the bench’s surface.
“We are very proud that the Lions Club would consider doing this for Bill,” said Nancy. Although the project was finished in October, the Hazels waited until Thanksgiving weekend to dedicate it so Bill and Nancy’s children, their spouses, and their grandchildren, many of whom are away at college, could be there together. Both sides of the family have strong roots in Harvard going back four generations on Bill’s side and five on Nancy’s side. “It is a little unusual to have a family with all these generations still here,” she said. “It’s wonderful.” And after so many years of working together, she added, the Lions Club members feel like family, too.
The bench itself continues Bill’s lifetime legacy of giving back to the people of Harvard. The seating area was designed with flat granite pavers so people in wheelchairs or on crutches would be able to use it. “This was the family’s idea: We wanted to create a place where anyone who has difficulty walking could have easy access, so they can all sit and enjoy the views and events,” said Nancy. “It’s so beautiful there, everyone should be able to use it.”
