Hazel Smith loved her church, and the people of St. James Episcopal are fortunate indeed that her church is our church. Although she died in 1991, her legacy continues to benefit us all.

Hazel was a lifelong member of St. James. Born on Christmas Eve in 1899, she lived for most of her life in her family’s home on Leitch Avenue in Skaneateles. Her father was Charles F. Smith, the son of George and Mary Smith, who came from England. Hazel’s mother was Martha Smith, born in Somerset, England, in 1869. Martha came to America in 1887, and became a citizen in 1889.

Hazel grew up with three sisters — Elsie, Amy Mae and Lena — and a brother, Edward. Her father died in 1904, when he was just 41 years old, and her mother took in washing to support the family. Her sister Elsie died in 1913 at the age of 20, when Hazel was 14 years old. After graduation from Skaneateles High School, Hazel attended Central Business Institute in Syracuse, and then began work at the National Bank in Skaneateles. In 1926, she went to work at Solvay Process, beginning in the accounting department. She worked there for the next 38 years.

But in spite of pursuing her career, Hazel never left home. She commuted an estimated 350,000 miles, returning each night from Solvay Process to her home in Skaneateles. At the time of her retirement in 1964, she was the firm’s Senior Executive Secretary.

After Martha Smith died in 1949, Hazel and her sister Amy Mae still lived at home on Leich Avenue, and Lena, a teacher in Johnson City, New York, summered with them in Skaneateles. The sisters especially loved the garden, and spent many hours making it one of the loveliest in the Village. “Their gardens were pristine,” Dorothy McMasters remembers. “Every blade of grass stood at attention.”

Amy Mae Smith was a registered nurse, having earned her diploma at the Syracuse Hospital for Women and Children. She was very quiet and shy. She attended the 7:30 a.m. Sunday service at St. James, but was most comfortable at home.

Hazel, on the other hand, was outgoing, and involved in many facets of her church’s life and mission, with a special love for the St. James Thrift Shop where she volunteered for many years. Hazel loved a good conversation and was gifted with a sense of humor. She was known as “Hon” to her friends at the Thrift Shop, short for “Honey.” Gwen Birchenough, who worked alongside Hazel, remembers her as “a really good soul, a really good person,” who worked hard, but was always neat, prim and proper. Another friend remembers her as a very intelligent woman, and a very committed Christian.

While Hazel’s involvement in church activities was very public, she believed that giving should be done quietly. On one occasion, when the church refrigerator needed to be replaced, she contributed the total sum with a bank check from Syracuse so that no one would know who had donated the money.

The Smith sisters, however, did not spend money on themselves. Dorothy McMasters recalls that over the years the Smith house always remained as it had been. “Her kitchen was an old kitchen. Every room was an old room.”

Hazel’s brother, Edward, died in 1962, Amy Mae in 1971, and Lena in 1983. When Hazel, the last living member of her family, died on September 30, 1991, her obituary noted that she was “survived by several friends.” Hazel’s last will and testament, however, held two surprises. One was that her beloved church, St. James Episcopal, was her sole beneficiary. The other was that this frugal lady had quietly amassed a significant sum of money, a legacy that was to be used for the physical upkeep of our historic church.

Every time we set foot in this building, we experience the love and generosity of Hazel Smith. And so it seems appropriate and fitting that our new social hall bear her name, honor her memory, and hold her up as an example for us all. Thank you, Hazel. Your presence is still felt here, and you are remembered.