Hazel Donovan Liden

Welcome to Week 1 of 52 weeks, 52 Ancestors. This weeks theme is "Start." I always tell the story of how I started working on my family history. I had a dream about my dads parents. Doing every day things, but they had no faces. There's nothing scary about this. I just didn't have a strong enough memory of them for their faces to appear from my memory. I realized I could try to change this or let the memories continue to fade. The next day I saw an ad twice for genealogy software. I took this as a sign. And so my journey began.

One of those grandparents who needed a face was Hazel Donovan Liden. Hazel was born May 20, 1920 in Chicago Illinois. Her parents were Thomas Donovan and Margaret Curtin. Hazel was the youngest of 6 siblings - Bernice, Marcella, Daniel, Patrick, and Thomas. They all resided on the south side of Chicago. It is likely that her grandmother lived with them when she was born as she appears with them in the 1920 census taken in January.

Hazel attended Parker High School, a Chicago public school on the city's south side. This school still exists but it was renamed Robeson High School in 1977. She graduated in June of 1939. A story that her future sister in law, Rose, once told me was that they had known each other in school (Rose was about 2 years younger). Rose would always ask her about boys since she was older. Hazel didn't want to tell her about the new boy because he had a funny nickname (Dud - all his brothers had similar nicknames). When Rose found out she had a good laugh that it was her big brother that caught Hazel's eye.

On May 12, 1941 Hazel married Vernon Liden. They had four children that they raised on the south side.

In 1942, when she was just 22 years old she lost her mother. This was months after the birth of her 1st child. Her father passed 11 years later in 1954. Her brothers all preceded her in death. When she was just 53 she was widowed. Vernon passed away on April 26, 1974.
I know that sometime after that she moved to California for some time and then relocated back to the south suburbs of Illinois. I don't have many memories of my grandmother, but I do remember her staying with us once. She tucked me into bed, tucking in the sheets so firmly that I was not getting out of that bed without help! I certainly wasn't going to fall out of bed that night.
I've heard great stories about what a wonderful person she was. I'm sorry I don't have more memories of her.
Hazel Donovan Liden passed away from breast cancer on May 10, 1979 at 58 years of age.