Mrs. Hazel Hall Burger

January 20, 1936 - September 5, 2020

Hazel passed away peacefully in her home, next to her husband of 57 years, Bill. He still thought she was beautiful and would have married her all over again; they were holding hands until her last day. She was a woman of deep and abiding faith, which helped her through a nearly 30 year battle with multiple cancers. She finally succumbed to cancer but fought to the absolute end. She was born in Columbus, Georgia, and moved to Albany in the fifth grade. Although she spent her 16th birthday in the hospital with polio, she survived and thrived, and that set firm her courageous, fighting spirit which would carry her through her life. She was a 1953 graduate of Albany High School and a 1957 graduate of Agnes Scott College. She also received her Masters in Education from Duke University. She was a lifelong learner and was reading books until her last month. Hazel had a lasting effect on every person she came in contact with, including as a teacher of hospital and homebound students and as a member of First United Methodist Church of Albany, Georgia, where she was a member for more than seventy years. She was an active member of PEO and ADK, where she built deep, long lasting friendships. She was a devoted friend, and that was never clearer than in her last months in Albany. That friendship was repaid by those who graciously took care of her and her family as if they were their own. Added blessings were bestowed by her caregivers Connie Lynn, LaJuana Jones, and Calvin Curry, who stepped in at various times with love, prayers, care, and good food. All these blessings have sustained her whole family. One of her happiest days was April 1, 2008, when she learned her first grandchild was arriving a month early. The second arrived two years and one day later. From that 2008 April Fool’s Day on, she doted on her grandkids and never seemed happier than when she was hugging them or making them a special breakfast. They were everything to her, and the last six months of her life, she had the added joy of being surrounded daily by her grandkids, daughter, and son-in-law, whom she loved so much. A memorial service will be held at First United Methodist Church, Albany, Georgia, on Wednesday, September 9, 2020, at 11:30 am in the sanctuary. Out of courtesy to the family, masks will be required and social distancing will be observed. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to First United Methodist Church, Albany, Georgia or the Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta. Survivors include her husband, William Hunt Burger, a daughter, Jennifer Hunt Burger (Josh Greenbaum), a son, Thomas Hall Burger of NY, NY, two grandchildren, Adler McDaniel Greenbaum and Auden Grace Greenbaum as well as a host of nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Thomas Pinson Hall and Margaret McDaniel Hall, two sisters, Peggy Hall Benford and Marybeth Hall Davis.