Hazel Langston Newman Hemphill, 100, went to be with her Lord and Savior on the afternoon of January 15, 2018. Hazel was born on January 22, 1917 in Jefferson Davis County to Webb and Minnie Langston.
She was the youngest of thirteen children. When she was very young, Hazel's family moved to a farm near Clinton, where she lived for the remainder of her life. She graduated from Clinton High School in 1934, and then from Hillman College in 1935, where she was the oldest living alumnus. Hazel later returned to Mississippi College to earn her Master of Education degree. She was a professor at MC until her retirement in 1979. During her time teaching at MC, Hazel also served as director of the Women's Recreation Association and the Women's lntramural and Extramural Sports Programs. She was instrumental in forming the women's basketball team as well as the Choctaw Maidens Drill Team. One of her favorite memories involves traveling to Mexico City with the team for a football game. The drill team, along with the marching band, were invited to perform in Mexico City at a football game between MC and the Mexican team. The football players and band members traveled by plane to Mexico City, and the drill team traveled by train. However, the game was never played because of the assassination of then President John F. Kennedy. Mexico declared a three-day period of mourning, thus eliminating the football game.
After her retirement in 1979, she remained active in MC alumni affairs and served as president
of the 50-Year Club. ln 1993 she was inducted into the Mississippi College Sports Hall of Fame and was the MC Distinguished Kinesiology Department Alumna for 2005. Hazel was well known for her keen sense of humor and quick wit. When she was fifteen years old, she was rushed to a New Orleans hospital for the removal of a bullet cartridge that lodged in her lung after she inhaled it in a fit of laughter with a friend. After a successful surgery, she told the doctor and the newspaper reporter who interviewed her that she would be more careful in the future. ln a 1932 edition of the Times-Picayune, Hazel was quoted as saying, "When I brush my teeth I'll tie a string onto the toothbrush and fasten the other end to my big toe."

Hazel was preceded in death by her parents, her twelve brothers and sisters, two loving husbands - Wyatt Willard Newman and Maurice Hemphill, her beloved son Wyatt Dee Newman (Janet), and her grandson John David Newman.

She leaves behind her other beloved son, James Willard Newman (Susan); seven grandchildren - Jimbo Newman (Melanie) of Coila, MS, Randa Allie (George) of Brenham, TX, Jeff Newman (Becky) of Lumberton TX, Dan Newman (Shannon) of Sugarland, TX, Jesse Newman (Heather) of Friendswood, TX, Jamie Christian (Josh), of Madison, MS, and Katie Lord (Billy) of Clinton, MS; nineteen great- grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.

Hazel loved her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and was a devoted member of First Baptist Church in Clinton, where she enjoyed singing in the choir with her friends. Hazel loved people, and they loved her back. Her zest for life, her genuine interest in other people, and her infectious sense of humor will be greatly missed by so many, but we rest in the comfort that hers was a life very well lived.

Visitation will take place Thursday, January 18, 2018 from 5pm to 8pm at Wright and Ferguson Funeral Home in Clinton. A funeral service will be held Friday, January 19, 2018 at 11 am at First Baptist Church in Clinton, preceded by visitation at 10am . The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Hazel Newman Hemphill Memorial Scholarship at Mississippi College, Office of Advancement, Box 4005, Clinton MS 39058 or to a charity of your choice.

Please visit www.wrightferguson.com to sign the online guestbook.