Hazel Ward Moffatt Cusac, 105, an avid reader and bridge partner who was born when most homes didn’t yet have a telephone and women had just earned their right to vote, died August 9, 2025, at her home, surrounded by friends, family, and loved ones. The cause was breast cancer.
Hazel, the daughter of Addie Hagar Ward and Claude Ward, was born April 8, 1920 at Pershing, Oklahoma. The family, including Hazel’s older brother Ray, moved to Cushing in 1921. Here, they weathered the Great Depression and laid down roots. Hazel eventually went to Cushing High School, graduating in 1936, then attended Oklahoma A&M College and Okmulgee Junior College. She was united in marriage to Lewis K. Moffatt on November 22, 1935 at Pawnee, Oklahoma. In 1939, before Lewis was sent to war, the couple were blessed with one son, Lewis Keith Moffatt, Jr. Those who knew Hazel often observed that she maintained her faith--and her positive attitude about life--despite her share of hardships and losses, of which she knew many. Sadly, even though Lewis Sr. returned from overseas and the family re-established a life in Oklahoma, their time together was short. Lewis Sr. died of a heart attack on January 31, 1952, a fate that also met her son Lewis, Jr. on August 14, 1976.
On September 16, 1978, Hazel married William J. Cusac, a senior classmate with whom she had reconnected at a Cushing High School reunion. Hazel and Bill traveled widely together, entertained, and doted on family and friends for 16 years, until Bill died at home on May 12, 1994.
Hazel wouldn’t marry again, but went on to enjoy a busy calendar of work, volunteer projects, and social engagements that might exhaust a person a fifth her age. She was a longtime member of the First United Methodist Church of Cushing, Past President of Chapter AX of P.E.O. Sisterhood, and Past Regent of the Cushing Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution. She also served as President of the Women’s Association at Cushing Country Club, where she enjoyed many dinners, bridge games, parties, and events over the years.
From the time she was young, Hazel enjoyed having a job outside the home, and she didn’t fully retire until she was in her 80s. For many years she served as Corporate Secretary of Sabre Drilling Company, then at Thomas E. Maloney Investments. She even taught line-dancing at the Senior Citizen Center and taught her grandchildren how to do The Hustle.
In her spare time, Hazel enjoyed playing bridge, attending plays and movies, reading mysteries and novels (her preference: female heroes), traveling the world (mostly by cruise ship), and being with her many friends and extended family members. While always gracious and usually dignified in nature, she enjoyed a good joke and told them often. Over the years, Hazel wrote about her life for an autobiography meant for her inner circle, and in 2023 she brought her writing to the public eye with her self-published book “A Collection of Poems.” If you were unable to get one, it’s on the shelves at the Cushing Public Library, which made her very proud.
In her 2020 application to be a Centenarian of Oklahoma, she noted that her favorite songs included Irving Berlin’s “Always” and Gershwin’s “Summertime”; her favorite dessert was strawberry shortcake, and her motto was “Be optimistic and make the best of every day.”
Survivors are granddaughter Lori K. Moffatt and husband Randall Anthony of Austin, Texas; grandson Hal W. Moffatt and wife Jackie of Edmond, Oklahoma; greatgrandson Jacob Keith Moffatt and great-granddaughter Rachel McKenzie Moffatt of Edmond and Port St. Lucie, Florida, respectively. Hazel’s beloved stepfamily includes daughter Sue Cusac Kaiser and husband Jay of Hobe Sound, Florida; son John Cusac and wife Beverly of Marietta, Georgia; granddaughter Jennifer Kaiser Backman and grandson Scott Kaiser; great-grandsons Tyler, Brooks, and Reid Backman of Summerville, South Carolina; “honorary daughter” Cathy Reineke, whose late father Jake Amberg was Hazel’s last “special friend,” and many much-loved nieces, nephews, and companions.
In addition to her parents and husbands, Hazel was preceded in death by her son, Lewis Keith Moffatt, Jr., daughter-in-law Jody Bucko Moffatt Kerr, brother Ray H. Ward and wife Roberta, nieces Carol Ward Swisher and Wanda Ward Swisher, and nephew Donald Ray Ward and wife Sharon.
Memorial Services will take place this fall in Cushing.
In lieu of flowers, Hazel requested that donations be made to the First United Methodist Church.
You may share your condolences with the family at www.matherlydavisfuneralhome.com
