Willard Dean Hazelitt Jr.

Willard “Bill” Dean Hazelitt, 76, of Leavenworth, Kansas, formerly of Oskaloosa, passed away on March 8, 2026, at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas.

Born on July 11, 1949, in Richmond, California, to Willard Dean Hazelitt Sr. and Willa (Lacy) Hazelitt, Bill spent his early years in several locations before his family settled in Lansing, Kansas, where he grew up and graduated from high school. He went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force as a Vietnam veteran. Upon returning, he worked for Hallmark Cards in Leavenworth before pursuing a degree in Mortuary Science. He became a licensed funeral director and embalmer, a profession he dedicated himself to for many years.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents and his twin siblings, John Anthony and Ruth Antoinette. He is survived by his ex-wife and caregiver, Genevieve Lurquin-Hazelitt of Leavenworth; his son, Willard “Bill” D. Hazelitt III of Leavenworth; his sisters, Theresa Tilton of Highland, Kansas, and Deborah Foley of Bonner Springs, Kansas; his granddaughter, Anna-Jean Marie Hazelitt; and several nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to the Parkinson’s Foundation in his name.