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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, October 31, 2013 | 4 Oakville woman refuses to concede to age H It was there she met James S. Urie III while playing tennis. She got him a job at Ford as the office boy in the customs office. Eventually , he became vice-president of that department. Hazel and James were married and had two sons, Jim and John. They azel Urie has lived through some remarkable events. She was born moved to Toronto and then to Oakville in 1958. the same year the Wright Brothers made their first motor-driven One night in 1966, they went to see a skating show at Maple Leaf flight at Kitty Hawk and Henry Ford started selling his Model A. Gardens. While at the show , James died of a heart attack. He was Hazel has lived through two world wars and the Great Depression. She 59. actually rode in a one-horse open sleigh in winter. "Mom pulled herself together and pushed forward. That is how And when she was young, you didn't visit the bakery for bread -- she survived after dad died. She kept moving forward," said her you made your own. son. But it is all of those less remarkable things that really make up a Hazel volunteered at the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospilife. tal snack bar and later its gift shop. Hazel, who turned 110 on Sept. 28, was once a mean bridge She was still there once a week at age 100. player and baked scrumptious lemon bars. The Oakville resident also volunteered at the IODE (ImpeShe loved gardening and tennis and, most of all, her family. rial Order of the Daughters of the Empire), local Red Cross and And so for her 110th birthday , family and friends travelled from Maple Grove United Church. California, New Jersey , Chicago, Washington, D.C. and even NorHazel was a top bridge player and then moved onto euchre. way to celebrate. Five generations were at the party. She was still playing at age 107. The senior then moved to domiHazel has six grandchildren, nine great grandchildren and three noes. But now that is too difficult because of her poor eyesight. great-great grandchildren. She still likes to listen to country music and when James visits, he Her son, John Urie, says she is one of five women in Canada who are reads her the latest tennis news. 110 or older. Hazel has followed tennis since she was a youngster. Until recently , she What makes her especially unique is that she was born and raised in Canwould watch on TV by pulling her chair up as close as possible to see. Her ada. favourites have been John McEnroe, Andy Roddick and the Williams sisters. And, as John says, she "still has her marbles, she's sharp." She walks with a walkHazel did her own gardening until she was in her mid-90s. er. She doesn't see or hear too well, but can still land a sarcastic joke on you if you`re not "When I was living in Manitoba, she would put in her flower garden early Hazel Urie careful. in the spring so it would be ready when I visited. We didn't get flowers until "She can hear well enough that you have to be careful," he said. July ," says John. "It's those nice things she did." Hazel was born near Seaforth, Ont. and grew up in Winthrop, a whistle-stop with one gas station Hazel never drank or smoked. "I would recommend (that philosophy) to other people," she says. and a sawmill. She had a brother and a sister and theirs was a farming family. But John thinks the real secret of her longevity was not willingly conceding to age. After learning stenography and typing at business college, Hazel landed a job for the Ford Motor "She has always kept her get-up-and-go (mentality)." Company in Windsor, Ont. by Abigail Cukier Special to the Beaver Voted the Best in Oakville We Invite you to find out why! Call today for your personal tour. We'd love to have you join us! Retirement Living 380 Sherin Drive, Oakville, Ontario (905) 847-1413 www.vistamere.ca At Its Best