Hazel Jane Stokes

Hazel Stokes, the life of the party, the person who knows everyone in the room, the one you can go to with your highs and your lows. The one who will always celebrate the important, and even not so important, moments in life. From a small village in Scotland to living in 8 countries as a fitness instructor with her own business. Hazel was the most incredible mother to Nathalie for the past 27 years and wife to Jack for 41. She was the best person anyone could hope to know and she will be missed so much but never forgotten by anyone who was lucky enough to know her.

She was mostly known as the “queen of pilates” and would regularly pinch bottoms or say “tits up ladies” to fix everyone’s posture. She created a community and many people have credited Hazel with the reason they felt welcomed and part of something incredibly special in West Vancouver. Her parties were legendary and her stamina was unmatched. You could always count on Haze for a laugh, a glass of white wine, or a walk. She travelled extensively and would join Nathalie on her backpacking escapades. Even landing herself on a pub crawl in Prague where she became the leader. When we say the life of the party we do not only mean with her dancing. We mean with her enthusiasm, energy, and zest for life.

One story that Nathalie wanted to include is when the family flew to Halifax for Jan and Joan’s wedding in 2018. Hazel and Jack were flying from Vancouver and Nathalie flew from London. When Nathalie walked out of the arrivals gate Hazel and Jack were waving madly. Jack had not seen her in six months whereas Hazel had just seen her about six weeks prior. As they started towards her Hazel shoved Jack out of the way and ran forward to hug Nathalie first. The image of Jack looking gobsmacked while Hazel triumphantly ran to hug her daughter will forever be one of Nathalie's favourite memories.

Although MDS was a blow to her and the Stokes family, she stayed strong and fought incredibly hard right until the end. Thankfully her passing happened in the “best” way we could have hoped for. She was able to be in her home with her best friend Jack and it happened quickly and relatively painlessly. She fought so hard for 17 months with this awful disease and she is finally at peace. Her absence will forever be noted at any celebration but she would want everyone who knew her to be able to celebrate her life and the time she had here. Because she definitely made the most of her life, although she left us much too soon.

Please also add your memory on the Kudoboard site we've created by following the hyperlink, below.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.firstmemorialnorthvancouver.com for the Stokes family.