Hazel Bessie Pritchard Douglas of Lakeland entered the gates of Heaven on the morning of October 14, 2023. Hazel was the daughter of the late James Frank Pritchard and Bessie Powell Eady.

Hazel was born in Omega, Georgia. As a child, she moved to Lakeland, Florida, and worked alongside her family in the family's restaurant, The Rainbow Grill, on Main Street, in the 1940s and 1950s. From there, she worked as a cafeteria manager for Woolworth's. Later, she worked as a baker at Florida Southern College for over twenty years. Hazel loved to cook and loved people. With her gift for gab, she never met a stranger, had many friends, and had a story for any occasion.

In addition to her parents, Hazel was preceded in death by her husband, Merton Lee Douglas; her sisters, Mary Joyce Godwin, Helen Eady and Katina Young.

She is survived by her children, LeeAnn Sweat (Ronnie), Todd Douglas (Jelane), and Jeff Douglas; brother, Jim Perdicaris (Carol); grandchildren, Michael Douglas, Kylie Douglas Powell (Chance), Jennifer St. Pierre-Tidwell, Nicole Drummond and three great-grandchildren.

A funeral service to honor the life of Hazel will be held on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 11:00AM with a visitation beginning at 10:30AM, at Gentry-Morrison Southside Chapel. A committal service will follow at Oak Hill Burial Park.