William Lewis Hazelwood Jr., 61, of Sebastopol, CA passed away in the little town of San Francisco (also known as San Pancho), Nayarit, Mexico on Friday, March 6th, 2009 of a pulmonary embolism. His loving wife and best friend, Susan Harman, was with him during his last hours. Father of Kena and Kai Hazelwood, step-father of Carly and Jonah Stuart, he was born in Cambridge, MA on February 19, 1948, the only son of the late Emily and William Lewis Hazelwood, Sr. ‘Billy,’ as he was fondly known by his surviving sisters, Pat Redd of Melrose, MA, and Susan Jackson of Windsor, CT, is also survived by brother-in-law Larry Jackson and nieces, Ruth and Lydia.
William grew up in Cambridge, MA with his two younger sisters. He was recognized in his early years as academically able and transferred to a challenging school, the Agassiz Elementary School. He then went on to graduate from the Cambridge High and Latin School. He worked at the Community Boat House where he became dock master and taught sailing on the Charles River during the summers. He first attended Northeastern University where he rowed on a winning crew team. He transferred to Emerson College, Boston, MA on a basketball scholarship and graduated June 7th, 1970, with a BA in Speech. He appeared in the 1969-1970 edition of Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.
William drove cross country to begin the next chapter of his life in San Francisco, California, where he was briefly married to Caroline Laron. In 1982, he met and married Brenda Wade and together they had Kena and Kai. About his daughters, William often said fondly, “I wanted them smart and healthy, and now I have to live with them!” They fondly remember him as an ‘incorrigible’ punster. ‘Bill Hazelwood’ to his colleagues, he worked many years as a Director/Producer for KPIX and KQED and was Manager of Electronic Media Communications for Crown Zellerbach Corporation for 5 years. William won a Regional Emmy Award in 1973 for Outstanding Achievement, Special Programming, as the Producer of the primetime show All Together Now, KPIX.
Thanks to a fortuitous chance meeting with a former colleague at a San Francisco gas station, William became an instructor in the Broadcasting and Electronic Communication Arts Department (BECA) at San Francisco State University where he inspired and challenged his students with the calm eloquence that all who knew him admired. His daughters, Kena and Kai remember watching their daddy direct and teach. They took great pleasure in teasing him in front of his students to shakeup his sometimes intimidating image.
William had been with his wife, Susan Harman, for 12 years and lived in Sebastopol, CA, where he founded Sojourna Productions, a media and distance learning company. He retired from teaching in 2004. He and Susan enjoyed a life full of humor, love, growth and adventures. William was a wonderful husband, a committed and warm-hearted father and step-father, and a joyful friend and colleague. He enjoyed Tai Chi, sailing, hiking, ballroom dancing, tennis, acrobatic kite-flying and traveling.
William’s sisters, Pat and Susan, remember that, although ‘Billy’ was their only brother, he liked to remind them that he was their ‘favorite brother’. Besides being a ‘brat’ at times when he was younger, Billy was also self-sacrificing and came to the rescue of his little sisters as needed. He was a good listener and a straight shooter when giving advice (asked for or not!).
William was loved and cherished by the Harman-Stuart-Beard-Hodgson clan. They will miss him greatly. His cats McCovey and Leelu will miss their daily scratches. His family, friends, coworkers, and students will miss his laugher, kind spirit and wise advice. He will be missed but never forgotten; his laughing fits and practical jokes will keep all who knew him in smiles for years to come.
