Miss Hazel Henrickson
The Pacolet community lost a true friend this week. Miss Hazel Henrickson died on Thursday, September 5, at the age of 91. She was a teacher at Pacolet High School for many years. For those of us in the Class of 1955 she was a special person. She was our teacher, senior class sponsor and a friend. She worked long and hard for our benefit and always encouraged us. She gave of her time to be the Director of our senior class play and a chaperone for our class trip to New York and Washington. She always seemed to have infinite patience and a warm sense of humor.
She was an exceptional teacher and taught not only English classes but also a journalism class. In looking back, I suspect that her journalism class was one of the most useful courses that I had in high school or college. Her instructions about clear writing and fact verification easily carried over to letters and business reports in my later career.
To this day, when I read a newspaper or Internet article that is disorganized and not clear I find myself thinking “They sure did not have Miss Henrickson for a journalism class”.
We were all so fortunate to be favored with her presence. My wife and 1955 classmate, Mary Lee McKinney Teaster, wrote Miss Henrickson a "Thank You" letter a few years back. I think that this letter sums up the feelings of all of us in the Class of 1955. You can read this letter at Thank You Miss Henrickson.
Her obituary from the September 8, 2013, Spartanburg Herald follows below:
This web site has been started as a public service to share the story of Pacolet.
See more information about my Pacolet connection at Gerald Teaster.
