Mrs. Hazel Jean Corley King: A veteran social worker for all
Mrs. Hazel Jean Corley King succumbed on Thursday, February 5, 2026. She was 80 years old. A Family Hour will be held Friday, February 13, 2026, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Lakeover Funeral Home, 1525 E Beasley Rd., Jackson, MS, followed by a Memorial Service on Saturday, February 14, 2026, 11 a.m., at North Jackson Baptist Church, 6215 Hanging Moss Rd., Jackson, MS.
Hazel was born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, one of ten children of the late Robert and Lourena Corley. She confessed Christ at an early age, uniting with Saint Paul M.B. Church in Brookhaven.
She graduated from Brookhaven’s Alexander High School in 1964; Jackson State University, with a major in Sociology in 1968; and received a Masters in Social Work from Atlanta University in 1976. She was a Licensed Certified Social Worker.
She united in holy matrimony with Wendell L. King in August 1969. To this union, two children, Jonathan and Bethany, brought unmeasurable joy to their lives.
Mrs. King worked in a number of positions during her career, including being the first professional social worker hired in the Jackson Public School District; Director, Social Services, to include Military Families and Veterans, American Red Cross, Jackson, Mississippi; and Senior Social Worker, Mental Health Services, Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi. On retiring from the VA Medical Center, she served as Adjunct Instructor in Social Work at Tougaloo College.
She was preceded in death by her parents; two sisters, Lois Harris and Marilyn Bell Hampton; and two brothers, Johnny Corley and Otha Roberts.
Mrs. King leaves to cherish her memory: husband, Wendell King; son, Jonathan Chess King (Cerise), Roswell, Georgia; daughter, Bethany Corley King, Jackson, Mississippi; brothers, Robert Corley, Gary, Indiana, and Jerry Corley (Paulette), Brookhaven, Mississippi; sisters, Faye Jones, Lafayette, Indiana; Mary Johnson, Indianapolis, Indiana; and Hannah McFarling Smith, Chicago, Illinois; two grandchildren, Mykelti King, Clinton, Mississippi, and Morgan King, Roswell, Georgia; and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Alzheimer’s Association Mississippi Chapter, 207 W. Jackson St., Suite F, Ridgeland, MS 39157.
