Hazelmae Clark Townsend

Hazelmae Clark Townsend, 101, of Princeton passed away Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012, at Perry Memorial Hospital. She was born in Clay City on Nov. 22, 1911, and spent her early years on a farm. She graduated from high school in Harrisburg, Ill., and enrolled in MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill., where she graduated in 1934 with a bachelor of arts degree in Home Economics and Food Science. It was there that she met her sweetheart, G. Fred Townsend, a graduate of Illinois College, whom she married on Christmas day, 1936. The couple moved to Princeton in 1937. Much of Hazelmae''s life was dedicated to her home and three daughters, Connie, Phyllis, and Fredericka. She also cared for children outside the home by caring for children of working parents, many of whom still remember her fondly. Hazelmae volunteered extensively as a leader in the Girl Scouts of America and as a circle leader at the First Methodist Church of Princeton. As she aged, she took special care to visit elderly friends and shut-ins until she herself became immobile. Surviving are daughters, Phyllis (Munson), and Fredericka (Veikley); three grandchildren, Amber Kasbeer, Michael Risch, and Laura Risch Pascotto and three great-grandchildren, Adrian, Tyler, and Luna. She was preceded in death by her siblings, husband and daughter Constance. Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday in the Grant-Johnson Funeral Home, 30 W. Mechanic St., Princeton with Pastor Thomas Ostrander officiating. Interment will be in the Oakland Cemetery, Princeton. Visitation will be one hour prior to the services in the funeral home. Memorials may be directed to the First Methodist Church of Princeton, 316 S. Church St. or the Prairie Arts Council, 24 Park Ave. East.