Hazel Jarrett

Hazel Swinney Burke Jarrett, 92, passed from her earthly home to be with Jesus after a courageous battle with leukemia on Saturday, February 15, 2020 at the Hospice Home in Burlington.

A native of Greensboro, she was the wife of Ralph Louis Jarrett and the daughter of the late Rev. George W. Swinney and Etta Dalton Swinney.  She was also preceded in death by her first husband and father of her children, Buck Hugh Burke, sister, Irene Vaughn, and brothers, Clarence Swinney and Vernon Swinney.

She was a lifelong member of Glen Hope Baptist Church where her father started his ministry in 1927.  She spent many years working as a waitress/hostess at Huey’s Seafood and later worked and retired from the office of Dr. William Rippy and Dr. Allen Tate.

She loved the beauty of God’s world and enjoyed traveling to the beach and mountains with family and friends.  People were very important to her and her gift of encouragement was evident through her card ministry where she would spend hours at Hallmark selecting the perfect card for a person as an expression of her love and faith.  She was simple yet elegant and always insisted things be done “right”.  Her favorite place was Skid’s Drive-In on N. Church St. where she had been a customer for 49 years and was lovingly referred to as “Ms. Hazel”.  She spread God’s love to countless people and has left a legacy of kindness, faithfulness, generosity and courageous perseverance with a warm and gentle smile.

Survivors include her daughters, Lana (Chuck) Sparks of Burlington, Susan (Tom) Bishop of Elon; granddaughter, Julianne (Todd) Martin and two great grandsons, Benji and Alex Martin, all of Atlanta, GA; brother, Rev. Don Swinney of Graham; sister, Yvonne VanHoy of Greensboro; stepchildren, Anita (Charles) Albright of Burlington, Deborah Jarrett of Greensboro, Doug (Trish) Jarrett of Greensboro, Lynn (Ron) Stephens of Lynchburg, VA and Mike (Susan) Minton of Burlington.  Her second family includes Mike, Joni, Mack, David, and Nathan Raysor who have been friends and caregivers over many years.

A service to honor God and celebrate her life will be held 2:00 PM Wednesday, February 19, 2020 at Glen Hope Baptist Church by Rev. Bob Stephenson and Rev. Lewis Baber with burial to follow in Alamance Memorial Park.  The family will receive friends from 12:30-1:45 prior to the service at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Glen Hope Baptist Church, 911 North Ave., Burlington, NC 27217, Hospice and Palliative Care of Alamance-Caswell, 914 Chapel Hill Rd., Burlington, NC 2715 or Samaritan’s Purse, P.O. Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607.