Obituary of Kathleen "Hazel" Stinson

Kathleen “Hazel” Stinson was born April 22, 1927 in Rouleau, Saskatchewan and died peacefully on Monday, May 27, 2019 at the age of 92.  Hazel was the only child of Indiana native Manson Stinson and Emily (Prebble) Stinson, a nurse and midwife from Ireland. Her happy childhood on the farm shaped her determined personality and her love of animals, large and small, especially horses.

After graduating from Balfour Collegiate, Hazel attended Normal School in Moose Jaw in 1946-47. Due to a shortage of teachers, after a few weeks of tests and classes, she was sent out to teach in the Tugaske area from October to February before finishing her year at Normal School. She said this experience was invaluable. She taught in many one room schools and after attending Regina College to take Arts classes and to improve her certificates, she embarked on a two year stint in the Calgary School System. Upon her return to Saskatchewan in 1955, she taught in Kindersley, Cupar and Rosetown.

In 1962, she realized her parents needed her closer to home, so she returned to Regina and completed her B. Ed and most of her B.A. which she finished during her 25 year career with the Regina Public School Division. She retired from teaching in 1986 and cared for her mother in the house that her father built, until her passing in 1987. Long after her retirement, former students would stop “Miss Stinson” when she was out and about, to reminisce about their school days and they invariably told her what a positive influence she had been in their lives.

In 1974, Hazel decided to spend more time on herself and returned to riding, a hobby she had enjoyed as a youth, with the purchase of Yankee Buck, a well-trained buckskin Quarter Horse. She competed in dressage with Buck, as well as with Shell Valley (Shelly) her second horse and her third horse Willo-Rose (Rosie). Hazel was a mainstay of the dressage community and was a tireless volunteer for the Regina District Dressage Association and the Saskatchewan Horse Federation.

Hazel was a sports fan. She loved to watch baseball and curling and was glued to the TV set during the Olympics, but her special passion was the Saskatchewan Roughriders. She always knew all the players and their stats and had very strong opinions on coaching decisions. In fact, she named her cat Eddie, after Eddie Davis, her favourite player of the 2008 season.

Hazel loved to learn. At the age of 70, when most people are taking it easy, Hazel earned her Master’s Degree in English Literature.  Her thesis – Alice James’s Relationships with the Other James Women is a pretty good read.

Hazel leaves to mourn many special lifelong friends including the Cook Family, the Geddes Family,  the Seigo Family, the Lockhart Family, the Youck Family, the Pocock Family, the Hegel family and the Thompson Family.  Special thanks to the wonderful, caring staff at Riverbend Crossing who made Hazel’s final year so pleasant.

A Celebration of Hazel’s Life will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 10, 2019 at Broadway United Church, 105 Broadway Avenue, Regina. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Regina Humane Society, Box 3143, Regina, SK S4P 3G7 or a charity of your choice.  To leave online messages of condolence, please visit www.paragonfuneralservices.com