Time to rethink state’s death penalty stance
April 7, 2015
Still crazy for each other after 70 years
April 7, 2015
“What would Hazel do?”
That’s a question Lauren Fletcher’s says that’s what some friends of her late mother, Hazel Bergeron, would sometimes ask when faced with tough situations.
Lauren and other loved ones say Hazel was a model mother who loved her family, her Cajun heritage, and life.
“My mom knew when to be strict, knew when to let us learn, and knew to be there to pick up the pieces,” Lauren said.
Hazel never missed one of her three children’s games or events, despite being widowed relatively young, said Lauren, noting “she was always our greatest fan.”
Born in 1931 in the family home on a sugarcane farm in St. John the Baptist Parish that was shared with her grandparents, the woman known before marriage as Hazel Clement was described as a curious and energetic child. Hazel excelled in school and was very pretty and sociable. She was the first of her siblings to attend college, but her father decided that no daughter of his would go to college in New Orleans.
So she went to Nicholls State University but did not care for the language requirements there, and so transferred to a trade school and learned shorthand.
From there she worked for what was then called the Terrebonne Parish Welfare Department. That was when she met her husband, Lawrence A. Bergeron, Jr.
Lawrence took her to the Old College Inn in Thibodaux on the couple’s first date, where he told her that he would marry her, Lauren said.
To that she said, “No way!” But they were married not long after that in 1955. Together they had three children; two boys and one girl.
“He was obviously enamored with her,” Lauren said. “She was a very beautiful woman.”
Lawrence, who was diagnosed with melanoma, died in 1976. Hazel was 44 and had to raise the children alone. She later transferred from the “Welfare Department,” or parish social services, to the Terrebonne Parish Clerk of Court.
Lauren said her mom was not too strict, but made clear that she had high expectations for her children.
“She did well for someone who was a single mom and raised her kids beautifully,” said Gail Decker, Hazel’s sister.
The children’s friends were welcome in her home, the siblings recalled. Being a very empathetic woman, Lauren Fletcher said, she would often stop what she was doing to talk to teens about their troubles.
“She didn’t just talk ‘I, I, I,’” said Audrey George, a friend of Hazel’s and director of A La Maison Cajun Bed & Breakfast Association. “She would ask you about yourself and about your family and things that were going on.”
“She wasn’t a counselor, but she might as well have been because her heart was so pure,” Lauren said. “She really validated people by listening to them when they talked about their lives. And that was really a neat quality.”
A devout Catholic, Hazel was a founding member of St Bernadette Catholic Church. Her home was only a few houses away from the church, and she walked there every Sunday for Mass. In fact, she lived within walking distance of her church all of her life, even in St. John the Baptist Parish. As a child, she would go to church every morning during Lent before school.
She sang in the choir at St. Bernadette and was a member of the Catholic Daughters for 40 years.
Hazel is also remembered as a cultural ambassador to many French-speaking countries. She often hosted French-speaking cultural exchange travelers in her home through her work with George, who also directs a cultural exchange program called Authentic Cajun Tour!
About fifteen years ago, Hazel and her sisters went on a trip to visit Houma’s sister city in France, called Cambrai.
“You could see the love that they had for the language, the heritage, the culture,” Audrey said. “They were very good missionaries.”
Hazel would often care for the sick. First she cared for her husband, then her sister who suffered from Lupus, and even bathed her sister-in-law Audrey Bergeron’s daughter when she had back surgery.
In her later years she became a Master Gardener with the LSU AgCenter, something she was very proud of. She always grew fresh vegetables and beans, Lauren said. She loved to cook and made Cajun dishes from scratch.
Hazel had a comedic side to her as well. She loved to laugh and wouldn’t mind being the subject of a joke.
“Like many Cajuns, in order to entertain others they would often let themselves be the brunt of a joke,” Audrey George said. “And I believe that would probably explain her better than anything.”
Her coworkers at the welfare department endearingly called her “Katrinka” for her clumsiness.
“Think of a Lucille Ball episode — any of the crazy things Lucy would get into — that would be like my mom,” Lauren said.
“One thing for sure is you were never bored in Hazel’s presence,” George said.
Hazel Bergeron dances with her daughter, Lauren Fletcher at her wedding. Hazel will be remembered for her humor and empathy.
