Obituary for Arteleta Savage Hazen
Duncan: Arteleta "Leta" Savage Hazen, 87, passed away Saturday, November 26, 2022 in Lawton.
Graveside Services will be held at 2:00PM, Friday, December 2, 2022 at the Duncan Municipal Cemetery. All arrangements have been entrusted to Callaway-Smith-Cobb Funeral and Cremation Services in Marlow.
Visitation for Leta will be at the funeral home on Thursday, December 1, 2022 from 8:30 AM - 8:30 PM.
Arteleta "Leta" Savage Hazen went to her heavenly home on November 26, 2022, after battling dementia
for several years. She is affectionately remembered as a loving and caring wife, mother, grandmother, and
great-grandmother and a dear friend by those blessed to have known her.
Leta was born on January 9, 1935, in Lawton, Oklahoma, to Arthur Williamson and Opaletta (Carter)
Williamson and raised in Oklahoma City with her six brothers and sisters. Upon the outbreak of World
War II, her father left the country to join the Army in Europe, while her mother began "manning" a
factory floor in the critical defense industry. With their mother working grueling hours, Leta and her
brothers and sisters were left in the care of a local Catholic orphanage, where she knew hardship and little
else. After many harrowing months there, the siblings finally conspired to run away together, sneaking out
of a dormitory window at night and hitchhiking to their grandmother's house. After they arrived on her
doorstep, they never saw the orphanage again. In spite of her experiences there, Leta never lost her
Christian faith or treated her resilience as anything more than a product of necessity. When asked in later
life how they persevered, she would often simply say that "We laughed to keep from crying."
After the war, Leta was happily reunited with her parents, who moved the family to Rush Springs,
Oklahoma, where she graduated high school in 1953. She met her husband, William Paul Savage, in September 1952, and the two married on June 1, 1953. They made their home in Marlow, Oklahoma, and had three children, Paul Ray Savage, Greg Savage, and Traci Cox. Whether because of the time spent separated from her parents or because of her natural warmth and kindness, Leta's greatest joy was in building and nurturing her family. She was always a reliable source of compassion, strength, and encouragement to her children. They remember her empathy as a comfort on the darkest of days and her laughter a constant companion on the lightest. She created such a warm atmosphere that her house was often a second home for an extended circle of her children's friends. When her children became parents themselves, she repeated the process as a grandmother. Leta and Paul were married for 46 years until Paul's passing in May of 1999. In
addition to their three children, they had six grandchildren and seven great-grandsons, all of whom she
doted on endlessly. Leta later married Buddy Morris Hazen on January 10, 2009. Leta and Bud were
married until his passing in November of 2020.
For many years, Leta's work as a homemaker was her sole occupation, but she also worked outside the
home in a variety of positions over the years. She brought her skills as a homemaker to her work as a
seamstress for Haggar Men's Clothing and All Orthopedic Appliance. Later, she worked at Marlow Manor
Nursing Home, where her warmth and kindness made her a natural fit as a caregiver to the patients there,
including her own mother. She also managed the office of the family business, Marlow Tank Lining, and
babysat her grandchildren for many years. After Paul's death in 1999, she worked in the cafeteria at
Duncan Public School, where she was quickly adopted as "Grandma" by most of her grandson Matthew's
friends.
Leta was a proud Chickasaw native, and she taught her children and grandchildren to take pride in their
tribal heritage and inherit their values. She spent the final years of her career working as an assistant and
receptionist in the tribe's Duncan office until retiring in 2009.
Leta enjoyed spending time with her family and attending their sporting and academic events. Every fall,
she clipped the OU football and Thunder basketball schedules from the newspaper and rarely missed a
game on television. She also loved to paint, sew, sing, dance, decorate her home, and cook.
In the final years of her life, Leta battled dementia. As her family watched the disease steal a different
part of her with every visit, they noticed that, in some ways, her best qualities shone even more brightly
through the twilight. Though she could no longer take care of you, you never left her room without a
pocket full of Hostess cakes. Though she could no longer joke, her laugh was more infectious than ever.
Though she could no longer dance, she could hear her favorite song for the first time. Though your name
might escape her, tears would brighten her eyes at the sight of your face. Every woman was named
"Beautiful", every man 'Handsome", in this new world of hers, and she was made more beautiful in it.
Leta is survived by her daughter, Traci and husband Tim Cox of Duncan, her son, Greg Savage of Marlow,
six grandchildren, Rayna Savage, Hollie Savage, Breezy Savage Edwards, Matthew Cox, Tyler Savage and
Brooke Cox Wolfberg, and their spouses, seven great grandsons, a step-son and step-daughter, and many
nieces and nephews that she loved dearly.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, William Paul Savage, her second husband, Buddy
Morris Hazen, her son, Paul Ray Savage, three sisters, and three brothers.
Online condolences may be made to www.CallawaySmithCobb.com
Graveside Services will be held at 2:00PM, Friday, December 2, 2022 at the Duncan Municipal Cemetery. All arrangements have been entrusted to Callaway-Smith-Cobb Funeral and Cremation Services in Marlow.
Visitation for Leta will be at the funeral home on Thursday, December 1, 2022 from 8:30 AM - 8:30 PM.
Arteleta "Leta" Savage Hazen went to her heavenly home on November 26, 2022, after battling dementia
for several years. She is affectionately remembered as a loving and caring wife, mother, grandmother, and
great-grandmother and a dear friend by those blessed to have known her.
Leta was born on January 9, 1935, in Lawton, Oklahoma, to Arthur Williamson and Opaletta (Carter)
Williamson and raised in Oklahoma City with her six brothers and sisters. Upon the outbreak of World
War II, her father left the country to join the Army in Europe, while her mother began "manning" a
factory floor in the critical defense industry. With their mother working grueling hours, Leta and her
brothers and sisters were left in the care of a local Catholic orphanage, where she knew hardship and little
else. After many harrowing months there, the siblings finally conspired to run away together, sneaking out
of a dormitory window at night and hitchhiking to their grandmother's house. After they arrived on her
doorstep, they never saw the orphanage again. In spite of her experiences there, Leta never lost her
Christian faith or treated her resilience as anything more than a product of necessity. When asked in later
life how they persevered, she would often simply say that "We laughed to keep from crying."
After the war, Leta was happily reunited with her parents, who moved the family to Rush Springs,
Oklahoma, where she graduated high school in 1953. She met her husband, William Paul Savage, in September 1952, and the two married on June 1, 1953. They made their home in Marlow, Oklahoma, and had three children, Paul Ray Savage, Greg Savage, and Traci Cox. Whether because of the time spent separated from her parents or because of her natural warmth and kindness, Leta's greatest joy was in building and nurturing her family. She was always a reliable source of compassion, strength, and encouragement to her children. They remember her empathy as a comfort on the darkest of days and her laughter a constant companion on the lightest. She created such a warm atmosphere that her house was often a second home for an extended circle of her children's friends. When her children became parents themselves, she repeated the process as a grandmother. Leta and Paul were married for 46 years until Paul's passing in May of 1999. In
addition to their three children, they had six grandchildren and seven great-grandsons, all of whom she
doted on endlessly. Leta later married Buddy Morris Hazen on January 10, 2009. Leta and Bud were
married until his passing in November of 2020.
For many years, Leta's work as a homemaker was her sole occupation, but she also worked outside the
home in a variety of positions over the years. She brought her skills as a homemaker to her work as a
seamstress for Haggar Men's Clothing and All Orthopedic Appliance. Later, she worked at Marlow Manor
Nursing Home, where her warmth and kindness made her a natural fit as a caregiver to the patients there,
including her own mother. She also managed the office of the family business, Marlow Tank Lining, and
babysat her grandchildren for many years. After Paul's death in 1999, she worked in the cafeteria at
Duncan Public School, where she was quickly adopted as "Grandma" by most of her grandson Matthew's
friends.
Leta was a proud Chickasaw native, and she taught her children and grandchildren to take pride in their
tribal heritage and inherit their values. She spent the final years of her career working as an assistant and
receptionist in the tribe's Duncan office until retiring in 2009.
Leta enjoyed spending time with her family and attending their sporting and academic events. Every fall,
she clipped the OU football and Thunder basketball schedules from the newspaper and rarely missed a
game on television. She also loved to paint, sew, sing, dance, decorate her home, and cook.
In the final years of her life, Leta battled dementia. As her family watched the disease steal a different
part of her with every visit, they noticed that, in some ways, her best qualities shone even more brightly
through the twilight. Though she could no longer take care of you, you never left her room without a
pocket full of Hostess cakes. Though she could no longer joke, her laugh was more infectious than ever.
Though she could no longer dance, she could hear her favorite song for the first time. Though your name
might escape her, tears would brighten her eyes at the sight of your face. Every woman was named
"Beautiful", every man 'Handsome", in this new world of hers, and she was made more beautiful in it.
Leta is survived by her daughter, Traci and husband Tim Cox of Duncan, her son, Greg Savage of Marlow,
six grandchildren, Rayna Savage, Hollie Savage, Breezy Savage Edwards, Matthew Cox, Tyler Savage and
Brooke Cox Wolfberg, and their spouses, seven great grandsons, a step-son and step-daughter, and many
nieces and nephews that she loved dearly.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, William Paul Savage, her second husband, Buddy
Morris Hazen, her son, Paul Ray Savage, three sisters, and three brothers.
Online condolences may be made to www.CallawaySmithCobb.com