Alena Irene Hazen Welker Obituary (1919 - 2002)

ALENA IRENE MCGREGOR HAZEN WELKER OHIO - Alena Irene McGregor Hazen Welker passed away Saturday, August 24, 2002 at Hospice of Dayton, Ohio. She was born January 31, 1919 the youngest child of George Lester and Rosa Farley McGregor in Berger, ID. She was an apt student graduating as Class Valedictorian from Hollister High School in 1936. She was an active child loving the farm life and adoration of her five older siblings. She married Forrest Leroy Hazen in 1936. To that union was born Vernon Leroy Hazen in 1937 and Robert Douglas Hazen in 1943. She and Forrest divorced in 1944 and she and her two sons moved to Ogden, UT. She provided financial support for her family and was an excellent single parent. She made many sacrifices to spend countless hours supporting Vern in his aviation interests and Bob in his music. She worked hard, sacrificed and encouraged her sons to achieve the education she had forfeited. Both sons have advanced college degrees. As head waitress for Keeleys CafAC. in Ogden she enjoyed the interaction of many of the community leaders and her coworkers, many of whom became lifetime friends. When President David O. McKay stopped for meals her requested Alena as the waitress to serve his party. She used a shrimp batter recipe given to her by the Chefs at Keeleys and started a tradition of succulent friend shrimp for New Years Day which lived on in her family. In 1961 she inherited the famed "Kramer's" hot dog and hamburger stand on Grant Ave. from her sister Lillian Kramer and her brother-in-law Julian. She continued the legacy of the best hot dogs and hamburgers in town and made several improvements to the business. In 1968 she was selected Outstanding Woman of the Year by the Ben Lomond Chapter of American Business and Professional Women and competed for the national title. In 1962 she was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She grew in the Gospel and held many callings in the Relief Society and received her Seven-Year Medallion for service in the Young Women's organization. She enjoyed doing crafts, was a skilled cake decorator, an active member of the Ogden Camera Club and an accomplished seamstress and quilter. Many enjoyed her beautiful alto voice as she sang throughout the Salt Lake Valley with the LDS Singles Choir. In 1972 she married the love of her life Lowell R. Welker in the Salt Lake Temple. They were blissfully happy in Sunset, UT and she added his children and their families to her circle of love. Lowell developed emphysema and she nursed him with great care until his demise in 1976. She served honorably and with success in the Washington-Seattle Mission in 1981 and 1982. She fondly reminisced about her mission experiences with her family for years. She loved working in the Ogden Temple, often with the new brides. She was an active member of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. Her grandchildren and eventually great grandchildren were a great blessing and joy to her and she participated in their lives as often as possible. In 1991 she moved to Beavercreek. OH to live with Vern and his family. She occasionally was able to visit Bob and his family in Danville, CA. She leaves as a living tribute to her life, Vern and his wife Mary Ellen Ipson Hazen, Bob and his wife Tyra Tribe Hazen, ten grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. Her Stepdaughters Gaye Montgomery of Liberty, UT; Donna McGregor of San Diego, CA; Marie Hoops (deceased), 14 step-grandchildren, 15 step great-grandchildren and four step-great-great-grandchildren. Her parents, siblings George and Lester McGregor, Lillian Kramer, Emma Henstock and Francis Shankel, preceded her in death. , VisitationMyers Mortuary - Roy 5865 South 1900 West Roy, UT 84067 August 31, 2002 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM ServiceGraveside - Ogden City Cemetery 20th Madison Ave. Ogden,, UT 84401 August 31, 2002 11:30 AM CemeteryOgden City Cemetery 20th and Madison Ogden, UT 84404 August 31, 2002 11:30 AM