Hazel Joy Swango of Colfax, Ill., died at 2:40 p.m. on Jan. 5. She was 103 years old, and just 27 days shy of her 104th birthday.

Born on Feb. 1, 1920, to Alva and Martha (Cunningham) Hon, near Glencoe, Ky., she attended Gallatin County High School in Warsaw, Ky., and upon graduation went to Curtis Commercial College in Covington, Ky., where she studied to be a secretary and stenographer.

She married William Harvey Swango on June 22, 1946, in Glencoe, Ky. In 1951, she had her first son, Gary. Together, they moved to Illinois in 1956 to take over farming for a family member near Colfax. Her second son, Larry, was born in 1957.

Hazel retired from the Octavia School District in 1978, where she had worked as a school secretary.

She was an avid gardener who followed the Farmer's Almanac, planting her root vegetables according to the phases of the moon. Summer evenings would be spent snapping green beans or shucking sweetcorn on the porch, always with a fly swatter close by.

Her fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, pickles and iced tea were Sunday dinner favorites. Her grandchildren remember her pizzaghetti, Tang and Kool-Aid, and the gumdrops and Werther's Originals she kept in the candy jar on top of the TV. She loved her sweets.

Hazel had chickens and peacocks, cats and dogs — all outdoor pets that would accompany her in the cellar during thunderstorms, which she was terrified of. The cellar's cement block walls documented each storm she weathered there.

She loved the Wheel of Fortune, daily crossword puzzles and sewing projects, and she spent hours fishing for bluegill off the dock in Northern Wisconsin, always spitting on the hook for good luck before casting her line.

A dedicated Christian, she had many Bibles and read them front to back multiple times. In it, she wrote, "Life is hard. God is good, and heaven is real."

She was a member of Saybrook Christian Church and the NTO (Never Too Old) Club, holding many offices including president. Doctors, caretakers and community members adored her spunk and always commented on her cheerfulness.

Surviving are two sons, Gary Swango of Normal and Larry (Lori) Swango of Bloomington; her five grandchildren, Alissa Swango, of Washington, D.C., Blake (Sarah) Swango, of Alexandria, Va., Bethany (Sean) Phillips, of Normal, Breanna (Ian) Teig, of Windsor, Colo., and Kelsey (John) Billings, of Davidsonville, Md.; nieces Sue Hughes, of Northport, Fla., and Connie Jo Holtman, of Cincinnati, Ohio; brother-in-law Joe Swango, of Cincinnati, Ohio; and 11 great-grandchildren.

Her parents, brothers Leonard and Robert Hon, sister Dorothy Hauth, daughter-in-law Julie Swango, as well as her husband of 60 years, William Swango, predeceased her.

A visitation will be held at Duffy-Pils Memorial Home in Colfax, Ill., from 10 a.m. to noon on Friday, Jan. 12, followed by a private service and burial for family at Wiley Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Hazel's name to honor the caregivers of the "Memory Care Unit of Arcadia Care" at 509 N. Adelaide St., Normal, IL 61761.