Hazel Haley exits the stage

According to The Ledger, Hazel Haley died today at age 91. She had retired two years ago after teaching for 69 years, 67 of them at Lakeland High School.


Hazel was one of a kind. Her death is a great loss to Lakeland and to those who knew her, but she lived a long and fulfilling life doing what she loved: teaching young men and women - her "children" - to face the world prepared for whatever life brought them, to put the commas in the right places and to avoid run-on sentences.

Rest in peace, Hazel. We will always love you.

Apr. 14 update: Haley services: Goodbye, Miss Haley

See previous blog posts here.

Hazel Haley: Portrait of a lady

"Motivational speaker, media darling, actor, stage manager, theater-founder and world traveler. Hazel Haley has been all those things.

"But most of all, for 69 consecutive years, she's been a teacher. On June 30, she'll leave her Lakeland High School classroom for the last time."


Eight-page Ledger special . . .

• The richest life in the world

Updates . . .

• May 1: Teacher leaves a legacy of love
• May 21: After 69 years, goodbye to teaching

Previous blog comments . . .

• Hazel will retire this year

Please vote for Hazel

Hazel Haley is retiring after a 69-year teaching career, most of it at Lakeland High School.

To see her featured on CBS News Friday night's "Assignment America," please cast your vote today:

• Longtime Teacher

Hazel will retire this year

Hazel Haley, a dear friend of mine for many years, will retire from her 69-year teaching career at the end of this school year.

Nearing her ninetieth birthday, Miss Haley prefers to be called Hazel by adults, even those who, like me, are decades her junior. Beyond her teaching skills, Hazel understands and connects with teenage students -- her "children," as she calls them -- on every level except their music.

Hazel Haley has been teaching in the same room, No. 106, since 1952. That year, Lakeland High moved to what Haley still calls "the new campus" on Hollingsworth Road. [....]

Haley didn't set out to become Florida's oldest and longest-serving teacher. She's probably the nation's oldest, too, but the federal Department of Education doesn't keep track of that record.

Haley taught through World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars, segregation and integration, typewriters and word processors to the emergence of the internet. (Lakeland Ledger)

During her career, the school has moved, teachers and principals have come and gone, teaching styles have changed. But there are constants in the hopes and insecurities and dreams of the students she calls "my children."

"I've seen a million changes, but as far as young people are concerned, deep down inside they haven't changed," she said. "The things that were special about them when I first started are still special." (CNN, 2002)

Among her friends, Hazel still refers to herself as "the resident liberal" on the Lakeland High School campus. When she closes the door to Room 6 for the last time this year, may she continue to do all those "liberal" things that bring her happiness, keep her young, and make her an inspiration.

Other articles . . .

• Eighties superstar
• FSC names student plaza for longtime LHS teacher

Update: April 30, 2006 Ledger special . . .

• Portrait of a lady