Hazel Crooks, 98, of Grinnell, died November 18, 2007, at the Mayflower Health Care Center. Funeral services are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, November 20, at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell with the Rev. Len Eberhart, pastor of the Grinnell United Methodist Church, officiating. Burial will be in Hazelwood Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Grinnell Library Building Fund. The daughter of Charley and Flossie Haynes Pickering, Hazel was born December 29, 1908, in Putnam County, Missouri. She was raised and educated in Unionville, Missouri. She moved to Grinnell in the mid 1920s and was married to Garfield Webb in July of 1927. They were later divorced. On April 15, 1933, she was married to Allen Crooks, in Missouri, and the couple lived in Grinnell. She was employed at the Grinnell Glove Factory, retiring in 1964. She then for many years did babysitting and house sitting for several families in Grinnell. She was a long-time member of the Grinnell United Methodist Church. Reading was one of her lifelong passions, while cooking was always one of her great enjoyments. When she had dinner guests it wasn't just for a meal ' it was a gourmand's extravaganza. Her travels took her throughout the United States that she was proud to call home. She made visits to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, and the old Soviet Union. Her first visit to Europe was highlighted by Atlantic crossings on the famed ocean liners Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. Football and basketball were very high on her entertainment priority, particularly the programs of Iowa and Iowa State universities. She was a true blue fan of the Hawkeyes and Cyclones. She enjoyed playing cards and dominos while socializing with her family and friends. She was truly a great and unusual lady. Her accomplishments have been enriching and valuable. She loved her family and friends and thoroughly enjoyed her life. Survivors include her son, James (Betty) Webb of Gilman; three grandchildren, Greg (Gina) Webb of Portland, Oregon, Whitney Davis of Des Moines, and Sherry (Atul) Gupta of Grimes; and five great-grandchildren, Erika, Ariel, Yash, Shabana, and Nitin. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and two sisters, Marie Turney and Delsina Norris.