Evans, GA - Mrs. Hazel Marie Scruggs Ouzts, age 92, died of Alzheimer’s Disease on October 24, 2013.
A graveside memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM on Monday, October 28, 2013, at Westover Memorial Park, Augusta, with Rev. Gary DeMore of St. John UMC officiating.
An informal reception in celebration of her life will follow at Brandon Wilde Life Care Community, 4275 Owens Road, Evans, from 4-5p.m. The reception will be held in the SunRoom, located adjacent to the Main Entrance Lobby (follow signs to ‘The Commons’).
Survivors include her son, John Andrew Ouzts III and his wife Katharyn of Mt. Pleasant, SC, daughter Karen Ouzts and her husband William Petuskey of Phoenix, Arizona, and their son Alexander Petuskey, of Seattle, Washington.
Mrs. Ouzts was born Hazel Marie Scruggs on January 28, 1921, the second child of Chester Arthur and Marie Bland Scruggs of Augusta. She attended Monte Sano Grammar School, and graduated from Tubman High School in 1937. She attended Junior College of Augusta and ultimately graduated from Agnes Scott College in Decatur with a B.S. in Chemistry in 1941.
She married John Andrew Ouzts, Jr, son of John Andrew and Dora Streeter Ouzts of Augusta, on April 18, 1942. While raising their two children, the couple lived in Augusta and Macon, Georgia. They later lived in Eastman, Georgia, and Charlotte, NC, before retiring back to Augusta in 1979.
Before her children were born, Mrs. Ouzts worked at a public health laboratory in Atlanta and later at a bank in downtown Augusta. After her children were grown, she worked as a secretary/receptionist at Emory University and at the library of Augusta State (Georgia Regents) University. However, her life was primarily focused around her loyal, generous, and meticulous service to her family, friends, and church. She loved chocolate, cats, reading, travel, and creating beautiful home environments.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Concerts with a Cause Fund at St. John United Methodist Church, 736 Greene St, Augusta, GA 30901, or to the Alzheimer’s Association.