Hazel (Robbins) Rogers

Hazel (Robbins) Rogers was born on October 4, 1905, in the foothills of Menifee County, Kentucky, the daughter of John Morgan Robbins and Izane Hatton. She was raised in the Leatherwood community, surrounded by siblings and the steady rhythms of mountain life. The early years were simple but full, with census records placing her in the family home throughout childhood and into young adulthood — a girl shaped by hills, hard work, and family closeness.

On September 16, 1924, at just 18 years old, Hazel married Matt Rogers. Together they built a life rooted in love and resilience, raising nine children across Kentucky and eventually Indiana. Their children—Hezekiah, Rutha Ellen, Dorothy May, Gertha Eveline, John Mitchell, Gertrude, Ishmael, Thomas Ray, and Garnett Lee—were the center of Hazel’s world.

In those early years, the family lived in Menifee and Clark counties before moving north to Indiana in the 1950s. Records trace them through Logansport and later Kokomo, where they put down roots and built a home full of stories.

Hazel worked in the kitchen at Howard Community Hospital, helping provide for her family while still managing a busy household. She and Matt also ran a small yard sale and auction business — he would haul home treasures, and she would help clean and prepare them to sell. Resourcefulness wasn’t just a trait; it was simply how they lived.

Inside Hazel’s home, nothing was wasted. A round tin of saved buttons sat ready for mending. Worn clothing was carefully cut and pieced into quilts that warmed beds through Indiana winters — one quilt, family tradition says, may have been stitched alongside her mother Izane, carrying two generations in its seams. A carved keepsake box rested on her dresser. Decorative tins were saved and reused. Everyday objects were valued, tended, and kept.

The kitchen table was the true heart of her home. A rooster napkin holder with matching salt and pepper shakers sat in the center, witness to Sunday dinners, shared coffee, and laughter. The family gathered at her home on South Washington Street in Kokomo, drawn in by the scent of supper and the comfort of togetherness. Her backyard bloomed with peach and pear trees, and her pantry shelves held jars of home-canned goods. She dried “leather britches” beans, made mustard plasters for sniffly grandchildren, and brewed herbal remedies from the plants she grew just outside her door.

Hazel loved her grandchildren fiercely. She would defend their visits with a sharp word or a raised switch if needed, even when it meant standing up to her own children. She’d pour coffee for little ones at the table, letting them feel grown-up and welcome, creating moments they would carry for the rest of their lives.

Her front yard bloomed with red climbing roses and other flowers she propagated herself, often dressed in house dresses and penny loafers while she worked the soil. She found beauty in simple things — fabric scraps turned into quilts, cuttings turned into blooms, family turned into legacy.

Hazel passed away on April 24, 1986, in Kokomo, Indiana. Her funeral service was held at Ellers Chapel, and she was laid to rest at Sunset Memory Gardens Cemetery. The service program, preserved by her granddaughter, remains a quiet reminder of the faith and dignity that marked her life.

But Hazel’s spirit still lingers — in the quilts folded carefully away, in the scent of blooming roses, in the clink of salt and pepper shakers on a kitchen table, and in every story lovingly passed down. She was a woman of mountain roots, steady hands, and enduring love — remembered with a smile… and perhaps a gentle chuckle about those breaded tomatoes.