Diana Nancy Hazlett, nee Downton, born October 13, 1927, died surrounded by her family on Thursday, November 17, 2022, at Freedom Village in Lake Forest, California. Nancy was the daughter of the late Harry Edward Downton and the late Gertrude Downton in Brimpton (Berkshire) England, and had two full siblings, the late Harry Frank Downton and Helen Elizabeth Lampman. She also had four half-sisters (Harry's children by his first wife): Muriel, Phyllis, Milly Faith, and Gladys. Helen is Nancy's only surviving sibling.

During the early years of World War II, Nancy was hired by the British Post Office in Greenham Common and was working there when she met the late Charles Junior Hazlett, who was stationed nearby with the US Army's 101st Airborne Division, preparing for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. They married on August 15, 1945, the day after the signing of the surrender of Japan. After the war, Nancy immigrated to the US aboard the USS Tyler, a "bride-ship" carrying more than five hundred war brides to their new homes in the US. Nancy and Charles were reunited in the latter's hometown, Mason City, Iowa, where they found work and began to build a family, which eventually included seven children: Jerry Lee (1947), John Downton (1949), Steven Charles (1952), Vanessa Nancy (1957), Polly Anne (1958), Laura Beth (1959), and Theresa Jane (1963).

After all three of her sons had left home to begin their adult lives, Nancy went back to work for Mutual Federal Savings and Loan in Mason City, starting as a teller in 1968, moving later to the Accounting and Savings Departments. In 1978, she was promoted to Vice President of Loan Services. She worked in that position until she and Charles moved in 1985 to Lake Forest, California to be nearer their children. There, Nancy continued her work in the financial services industry, finally retiring in 1991, when she entered, as she put it, "the Promised Land" of retirement.

As much as Nancy enjoyed her professional achievements, her true vocation was her faith in Christ. Nancy served as a Bible Study and Prayer Leader, both in Mason City and in California. Her greatest impact, however, was on her large family, where her spiritual influence has been incalculable and has served as the foundation for the wonderful closeness that they enjoy. Nancy believed fervently in her personal relationship with Christ and the healing power of His love on her own life and on the lives of those around her.  Nancy saw that relationship and Christ's offer of salvation to mankind as the point of her faith, the mandate for her service to others, and the meaning of life.

In addition to her children, Nancy is survived by their spouses and partners (Jessica Henricksen, Lori Hazlett, Gary Kasik, Jeff Ostgaard, Greg Menke, Bob Van Every), and fifty descendants, including her seven children, sixteen grandchildren, twenty-five great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren.

A memorial service celebrating her life and Christ's goodness will be held on a date in 2023 to be determined later.