Hazel M. Burnet

Mrs. Hazel Irene Mixon Burnet, 91, of Charleston, SC passed away on Friday, August 1, 2014 in Charleston. She was born on Monday, July 2, 1923 in Estill, SC to the late Robert Franklin Mixon and the late Edna Eugenia Dyches Mixon. Hazel graduated from Furman High School in 1940. She attended Winthrop College, Rock Hill, SC until February 1942. At the onset of World War II, she came to Charleston and took a job as a secretary at the Charleston Port of Embarkation until the end of the World War II. After the war, she was employed as a secretary for a Broad St. attorney and an assistant secretary to the Mayor of the City of Charleston. In 1953, she returned to college at Duke University Durham, NC where she graduated in 1955 with a B.A. in Social Studies. Following her graduation, she was employed as a seventh grade teacher in Wilmington, NC. In 1957, she took a position at the Charleston Naval Shipyard, where she met Frederick R. Burnet, a civil engineer whom she married in June 1970. Hazel retired from the Public Works Department, Naval Shipyard in July 1983. After retirement, she took courses at the College of Charleston and was employed as a substitute teacher in Charleston public schools. In her youth, she enjoyed the outdoors, swimming, fishing, camping and crabbing. She was an avid reader and a piano student for a number of years. She was a member of the Charleston Library Society and St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. She is survived by four step-children: Jane Burnet of Brevard, NC, Barbara Burnet of Charleston, Frederick Richards Burnet (Kathy) of Charleston, and Nancy Burnet Sidley (James) of Summerville. Nine grandchildren: Beverly Cox Clark (Shannot), Elizabeth E. Cox (Eric Byrne), Jennifer Smith Wall (Matt), Ewell Garten (Jessica), Amy Humphries (Oliver), Richard Ruddy (Katie), Carmen Burnet, John Burnet, and Amanda Grooms (Coty) and seven great-grandchildren, one sister Clara Mixon Lewis of Chapel Hill, NC, many nieces and nephews, and her beloved dog (Abby). She is preceded in death by her husband, Frederick Richards Burnet and her step-daughter Susan Richards Burnet. A funeral service will be held 11:00 am, Tuesday, August 5 at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, 142 Church St. Charleston, with Father Marc Boutan officiating. Burial will follow in Magnolia Cemetery. The family will receive friends 6:00 pm-8:00 pm, Monday August 4 at McAlister-Smith Funeral Home West Ashley Chapel. Memorial Contributions may be made to St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, 142 Church St. Charleston, SC 29401. Expressions of sympathy may be viewed or submitted online at www.mcalister-smith.com. Arrangements have been entrusted to McALISTER-SMITH FUNERAL HOME WEST ASHLEY CHAPEL, 2501 Bees Ferry Road, Charleston, SC 29414, 843-722-8371.

Visitation:
Monday, August 4, 2014