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HAZEL SKINNER
Born: Sep 25, 1938
Date of Passing: Aug 20, 2026
Send Flowers to the Family Offer Condolences or MemoryHAZEL SKINNER
Hazel Skinner (née Barclay) passed away peacefully, surrounded by family and friends, on August 20, 2026 after a brief illness. Words cannot express how special and loved she was, or how greatly she will be missed.
The youngest of three children, Hazel was born into a humble, happy home in Turriff, in the northeast of Scotland, on September 25, 1938. As a child, she loved roaming around “the croft” and tending to the family’s animals. Her love of nature inspired her to study botany and biology at the University of Aberdeen. After earning a BSc and completing teacher training in 1960, she taught at an Aberdeen high school.
Hazel met James Skinner on the tennis court, and they married in 1961. Their daughter, Karen, was born in 1963. Two years later, they emigrated to Canada for better career opportunities. Hazel initially taught at Vincent Massey High School but was ready for a change by the late 1960s. She walked over to Brandon University and was immediately hired as a botany and biology lab instructor - a job she loved and devoted herself to for 28 years.
Hazel loved Canada from day one: for the bright sunshine, hot summers, and beauty of its landscape, the friendliness of its people, and the freedom and opportunities it provided. She made dear, lifelong friends and enjoyed an active social life filled with dinner parties, tennis, hiking, cross-country skiing, gardening, and Scottish country dancing. She had tremendous energy! She volunteered for decades, cooked from scratch (often making soups, stews, and jams into the wee hours), and took on extra duties at work: managing the greenhouse, making coffee daily for the science faculty, and occasionally marking exams for foot-dragging faculty members.
In 1989, Hazel met Charlie Zimmerman, and they spent 12 happy years together, gardening and enjoying nature holidays in the USA, Mexico and Central America. Following Charlie’s death in 2001, Hazel continued to travel extensively, particularly after her daughter began teaching English in Asia and the Middle East. She played tennis, entertained friends, and gardened well into her late 70s.
The final years of Hazel’s life were physically challenging as a result of heart attacks and heart and hip surgeries. Despite pain and limited mobility, she soldiered on, continuing to read voraciously, watch tennis, play Scrabble, and dispense her mummy wisdom.
Hazel is survived by her daughter, Karen Skinner (Mohammad); stepsons Todd (Nancy) and Craig Zimmerman; sister-in-law Agnes Barclay; nephews Billy, Colin (Angela), and Douglas (Yvonne) Barclay; and niece Charlotte Greig (Dave). She will also be fondly remembered by Colleen and Terry Mitchell, the Happy Hour gang, and many friends and students whose lives she touched.
The family would like to thank Dr. Fourie, Dr. Sandhawalia, nurse April Crossman, and the other nurses and health care aides at Brandon General Hospital for their dedicated, compassionate care.
Donations in Hazel’s memory may be made to Brandon General Hospital or to a charity of your choice. A Celebration of Life is planned for late October.
As published in Brandon Sun on Aug 29, 2026
Condolences & Memories (7 entries)
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Hazel was our neighbour for many years. She was a lovely lady and she will be missed. My condolences to Karen and family. Ken Blair - Posted by: Ken Blair (Neighbour) on: Sep 14, 2026
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I first met Hazel as a mature student at Brandon University. Hazel was such a great teacher and helped a whole lot of students to grow and gain confidence in their botany and biology knowledge. My four year old son, Kieran would play with his toy animals in the hallway of the Botany Department and Hazel soon took him under her wing and had him looking at specimens and bugs in dissecting microscopes and compound microscopes. Then in the summers, while I was doing field work and Rob was working, Hazel and Charlie would take our son Kieran and our daughter Tristan on wonderful adventures, along with their dog Fergus - on their property out near Kemnay and down to the Souris Swinging Bridge, over to the Carberry Sandhills, up to Clear Lake and many other adventures. They became another set of grandparents to our kids, attending many of our family events over the years, including Tristan's graduation from Brandon University. Hazel met and welcomed both Tristan's husband, Daven and Kieran's wife, Nadia and kept abreast of all our doings over the years. Hazel was my role model of what a woman could be - she was smart and strong and independent in a time when that was more difficult for a woman. She embraced new experiences, travelling widely and gathering so many different people into her circle and into her heart. She helped Rob and I through some hard challenges in our lives and celebrated with us through good times. She brought us into her family and added us to her ever-widening circle of friends. Our lives and our children's lives are better because of having an amazing person like Hazel in our lives. Her warmth and her sense of humour and her "life well lived" will stay with us in our hearts. - Posted by: Rhonda and Rob McDougal (Friends) on: Sep 02, 2026
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Hazel was such a sweetheart and a tremendous asset to the Brandon University Botany Department. She helped me get settled when I started at BU as an Assistant Professor of Botany in 1992 and we remained good friends and colleagues throughout my 10 years there. We had many dinners, potlucks, and parties together. We enjoyed visits to her home, to the semi-subterranean greenhouse she and Charlie made from an old swimming pool, walks with her dog Fergus, and she even loaned a field for an art installation prepared by JungHee. She is dearly missed! - Posted by: Robin and JungHee Marles (Colleague and friend) on: Aug 31, 2026
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So sorry to hear this sad news. Haze-baby was a great friend and tennis buddy to my late mother Kathleen. She was at the center of many fond family experiences while growing up in Brandon, such as the Skinner/Georgison/McPhail long-weekend trips to the old Ramada Inn in Minot, and the brilliant summers at Clear Lake. Later on, she was the lab instructor for my very last Brandon University course before I graduated. - Posted by: Paul Georgison (Family friend) on: Aug 31, 2026
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Hazel was a lovely person...that picture captures her special smile. We were colleagues at BU for twenty years, and it was a privilege and a pleasure to know her. - Posted by: Bill and Linda Morrison (colleague) on: Aug 29, 2026
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Thanks for everything Haze-baby. You helped to male at BU well worth living. - Posted by: John and Elaine Everitt (Friends) on: Aug 29, 2026
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Sorry to hear this, our Condolences to Karen and family. - Posted by: Ken Daniels (Collegue at Vrandon University and neighbour in Kemnay area.) on: Aug 29, 2026