Necrology

Robert Blyth Hazen '55

Nov. 13, 1932-May. 2, 2023

Robert Blyth Hazen ’55 died on May 2, 2023, in Holyoke, Mass., only five miles from South Hadley, where he had lived most of his life. He was born in Springfield, Mass., on Nov. 13, 1932, and came to Hamilton from the Westminster School in Simsbury, Conn. On the Hill, he was a member of Psi Upsilon fraternity and majored in chemistry.

Bob’s time on the Hill was divided in two. Following his sophomore year, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1953, where he served for two years as a medical corpsman. He returned to campus in the fall of 1955 and graduated with the Class of 1957. Nonetheless, he retained his allegiance to the Class of 1955.

Bob met Jean Compton Alderman, who lived in the same neighborhood, as she was mastering the manual transmission while learning to drive. What may have started as a casual friendship became serious in time, and following his graduation they became engaged. They were married in South Hadley on Nov. 16, 1957, and settled in the neighborhood where they first met, raising two sons and two daughters.

After graduating from Hamilton and completing a two-week course in paper technology at the Lowell (Mass.) Technological Institute, Bob worked in the family business: the Hazen Paper Co., which his uncle, John N. Hazen, founded in 1925. It specialized in the production of luxury packaging, lottery and other security tickets, tags, labels, cards and cover stock, as well as photo and fine art mounting. Under Bob’s leadership as company president, it continued to expand its product line and created the technologies to produce new products, one of which was holograms. One of their better-known products is the cover for Super Bowl programs.

Bob was president of Hazen Paper for almost 40 years, during which time the business developed an international reputation for special papers of high quality. In 1996, Bob passed the reins to the third generation of Hazens, his nephew John and his son Robert. 

During both his active employment and in retirement, he exhibited a strong sense of community responsibility: he supported numerous charitable organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, the Holyoke YMCA, and Neighbors helping Neighbors. He was also an active member of the First Congregational Church of South Hadley.

Bob and Jean were engaged parents, regularly attending their children’s sporting events, including soccer games and ski races, and instilling confidence in them by their positive reinforcement of their accomplishments. Later, they would provide the same support to four grandchildren and one step-grandson.

Bob was both a fanatical and highly competitive tennis player who played the game for more than 80 years, stopping only months before his death. He was in one tennis group for 30 years. His competitive drive came to trouble his doctor in his later years, causing him to recommend to Bob that he forgo trying to win every game in favor of winning just 80% of them. 

He and Jean were both skiers, and with family and friends annually traveled to the Alta Ski Area in Little Cottonwood Canyon near Salt Lake City. Stowe, Vt., was another favored skiing venue, in addition to being a vacation destination in the summer.

At home, Bob was an enthusiastic gardener. He spent several hours each day cultivating multiple plots in which ferns, hepaticas, and other shade-loving perennials flourished, including the 200 daffodil bulbs he planted on a hillside overlooking Mount Tom. He was tending to his lawn a week before his death. 

A companion interest was birding, reflected in his daily tending to feeders for the many species that called his land their summer home. Those feeders attracted other animals — bears and bobcats among them — so every evening Bob brought the feeders into the house for safekeeping and returned them outside the next morning.

Bob was an avid reader, primarily of histories and biographies, sometimes rising before dawn to get a few hours in before the day began. For a number of years, he was an active member of a book group.

Robert B. Hazen is survived by his wife, two daughters, two sons, four grandchildren, and one step-grandson.

Necrology Home