Obituary of Bonnie J. Hazard

Bonnie Jean Hazard of East Greenbush, NY passed away on Saturday August 12 at the age of 59. She was born in Lackawanna (Buffalo), NY on November 7, 1963 to Richard and Jeanne Rae Hazard. She is predeceased by her Father, Richard, her Mother, Jeanne Ray, her Step-Mother, Nancy and her Sister-in- law, Chrissy. Bonnie leaves behind her brothers Richard Jr., (Sharon), Mark, Donald, Michael and Peter Ross (Elizabeth), plus her nieces and nephews, Jason, Rebecca (Ben), Alanna, Sierra, Christian, twins Corey and Brandon, Kayla great nieces and nephews Nora Jean and Malickai. The story of her birth is that her late Mother, Jeanne Ray Meaney Hazard was at the North Evans Fire Hall playing bingo when she went into labor with her only daughter, Bonnie (named after a song in Brigadoon). Bonnie was a Daddy’s girl and the light of her Mother’s eye. She was a tom boy as a child but became more introspective as a young adult. Bonnie shared her Mother’s passion for books and was devastated when, her Mother, Jeanne died of melanoma when Bonnie had just turned 14 years old, leaving her Father, Richard and her four brothers, Richard, Jr, Mark, Donald and Michael without a Mother. Her Father would marry Nancy Jean Ross on January 4, 1979. It was not an easy transition for Bonnie who had become accustomed to being the “woman of the house”. With this marriage came a stepbrother, Peter Alan Ross, who at the age of 10 was a very welcome addition to the household. It took almost two decades for Bonnie and her new mother Nancy to develop a bond and become best friends, sharing a love of Harry Potter, Scrabble, and bargain shopping and old movies. At Frontier High School, Bonnie would establish lifelong friendships, especially a friendship with her “Sister from the heart”, Linda Sauer Milford. Bonnie blossomed during her “best four years of her life” at SUNY Geneseo. It was there that she learned to be who she was meant to be. She established lifelong friendships. Her love of psychology became her passion and she went on to receive her Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology at SUNY Albany. During her time at SUNYA, Bonnie was instrumental in bringing two souls together – Linda Sauer and David Milford. From this union, Bonnie’s embraced “her children” – Caleb, Jaela and Jared. These loves of her life became Bonnie’s be all and end all. They were her kids whom she spoiled and lectured and worried about every day since their birth, all the while bragging to anyone who would listen to her pride in all they accomplished. By some odd twist of fate, Bonnie found herself working in the addiction field for seventeen years as a counselor and then clinical director at Catholic Charities of Columbia & Greene Counties. This would lead to her dream job as Resource Coordinator for Hudson Regional Treatment Court and then Troy Regional Treatment Court. Bonnie touched many lives of those suffering from a Substance Use Disorder. She was awarded the Sherry Lintz Award of Excellence by over a thousand of her peers in 2021. Her passion, empathy, guidance and tough love impacted many individuals and families throughout her time working in the court system. Bonnie loved to hear from her “alumni” and would often say that her participants were her “children”. She was always there with an open mind and open heart. She gave her participants, team members, and colleagues everything she had. If she learned something new, she never hesitated to share it with others. Bonnie lent her “ego strength” to so many others that she would spend her down time with her beloved cats, Fred and George and would want nothing more than to be curled up in her recliner with a good romance novel. Bonnie hated flowers so in honor of her passing you may donate to the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society.A celebration of life service to remember and honor Bonnie will be held September 10, 2023 at 2 PM in Pat’s Barn in the RPI Tech Park, Troy, NY. Family will also be present to receive frends Saturday, September 23, 2023 from 1 -3 PM at the ADDISON FUNERAL HOME INC.. 262 N. Main St. Angola, NY where services will follow at 3 PM