Whitesell-Somers Family Web Project - Person Sheet
Whitesell-Somers Family Web Project - Person Sheet
Spouses
DeathFeb 28, 2022 [8813]
BurialUnknown [8813]
FatherRalph Boyd COOK (1913-2003)
Mother“Tennie” Jennie Bell SCOTT (1917-1998)
MarriageAug 31, 1972, Alamance County, North Carolina [8814]
ChildrenDonald Ty (1969-1987)
Obituary Online notes for Hazel Sandra (Spouse 1)
3/5/2022
Hazel Sandra Cook Laughlin
If you truly knew her, you know that she had an acerbic wit that could just as soon lead to a laughing spell as a fist fight. If you truly knew her, you know she loved being surrounded by music and dancing to it. If you truly knew her, you know that people drove hundreds of miles to sit at her table for the most perfect simple southern food and the flavorful stories she served alongside it. If you truly knew her, you often wondered how such a tiny human could be such a large presence. If you truly knew her, you know that she never backed down from a fight—and that she rarely lost one. On February 28th, Hazel lost her battle with cancer.
Born in a small red farmhouse in Ossipee in 1950, Hazel was the second child of Ralph and Jennie Bell Cook. As Hazel would often recount, it was a difficult childhood exacerbated by the impacts of crippling poverty. That poverty, coupled with the ridicule she bore because of it, helped to forge her intense and lifelong belief in fairness. In a community of such inequity, she made her values clear to everyone - whether they wanted to know them or not.
One of her greatest joys was sitting on the bank of the Haw River or a pond and fishing with her mother until the last sliver of daylight had faded. Her work ethic was unsurpassed; her skills and analysis of systems impacted companies like General Electric and HouseCalls where she earned numerous honors and awards for her capabilities in process improvement. Hazel’s love of animals was such that her home was rarely without a four-legged companion – many of which, like Fritz the Siamese cat and Kane the golden retriever, achieved a fame of their own.
Hazel is survived by her sons, Jonas and Travis Laughlin, and her brother, Hobart Cook. She was preceded in death by her parents, Ralph and Jennie Bell Cook; her second husband, Donald Lee Laughlin, Jr.; her son, Rocky Zane Laughlin; and her step-son, Donald Ty Laughlin.
As per her wishes, there will not be a public service; her sons will honor her memory in their own private ways. In lieu of flowers, donations in Hazel's honor should be made to local animal shelters and/or any entity aimed at the unseating of Terry Johnson, the Sheriff of Alamance County. [8813]
Hazel Sandra Cook Laughlin
If you truly knew her, you know that she had an acerbic wit that could just as soon lead to a laughing spell as a fist fight. If you truly knew her, you know she loved being surrounded by music and dancing to it. If you truly knew her, you know that people drove hundreds of miles to sit at her table for the most perfect simple southern food and the flavorful stories she served alongside it. If you truly knew her, you often wondered how such a tiny human could be such a large presence. If you truly knew her, you know that she never backed down from a fight—and that she rarely lost one. On February 28th, Hazel lost her battle with cancer.
Born in a small red farmhouse in Ossipee in 1950, Hazel was the second child of Ralph and Jennie Bell Cook. As Hazel would often recount, it was a difficult childhood exacerbated by the impacts of crippling poverty. That poverty, coupled with the ridicule she bore because of it, helped to forge her intense and lifelong belief in fairness. In a community of such inequity, she made her values clear to everyone - whether they wanted to know them or not.
One of her greatest joys was sitting on the bank of the Haw River or a pond and fishing with her mother until the last sliver of daylight had faded. Her work ethic was unsurpassed; her skills and analysis of systems impacted companies like General Electric and HouseCalls where she earned numerous honors and awards for her capabilities in process improvement. Hazel’s love of animals was such that her home was rarely without a four-legged companion – many of which, like Fritz the Siamese cat and Kane the golden retriever, achieved a fame of their own.
Hazel is survived by her sons, Jonas and Travis Laughlin, and her brother, Hobart Cook. She was preceded in death by her parents, Ralph and Jennie Bell Cook; her second husband, Donald Lee Laughlin, Jr.; her son, Rocky Zane Laughlin; and her step-son, Donald Ty Laughlin.
As per her wishes, there will not be a public service; her sons will honor her memory in their own private ways. In lieu of flowers, donations in Hazel's honor should be made to local animal shelters and/or any entity aimed at the unseating of Terry Johnson, the Sheriff of Alamance County. [8813]