William Paul Hazelrigg, son of Roy H. Hazelrigg and Bessie V. (Mauzey) Hazelrigg went home to be with his Savior on Wednesday the 2nd of September at home. Paul was born June 22, 1937 in Brookfield, he was 89 years old. Growing up he was active in scouting, starting out in cub scouts and continuing on in Boy Scouts earning the Eagle badge with a Bronze Palm. Paul was a member of troop 41 and attended the National Jamboree held at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania in 1950. He spent several summers in charge of the rifle range as a member of the staff at the Scout Camp Pa-He-Tsi at Osage Beach. He was a brotherhood member of The Order of the Arrow. Paul was a graduate of Brookfield High School in the class of 1955 and the University of Missouri in the class of 1959. On June 14,1959 he married the love of his life Barbara L. McCollum and together they raised three children: Paula Babette Hill (Bill) of Trenton, Mo., William Brent Hazelrigg (Keri) of Columbia Mo., and Pamela Bettina Spath (Carl) of Chillicothe, Mo. They were married for 67 years. Upon his graduation from the University of Missouri he was commissioned an Ensign in the U. S. Navy and served aboard the fast attack aircraft carrier USS Shangri-La CVA 38 as a gunnery officer and was one of a handful of officers that were qualified not only to stand the Officer of the Deck watch in port but also while underway in attack carrier type vessels, during both day and night steaming, maneuvering in or out of task force formations, replenishment at sea and during air operations. He was also a qualified Combat Information Center (CIC) watch officer. While in the Navy he visited many ports of call from Tokyo, Japan to Istanbul Turkey sailing across the Equator, around Cape Horn and above the Arctic circle. After the completion of his service in the Navy his family returned to the family farm in Brookfield and was involved in backgrounding and feeding cattle. Later he developed a cow herd and raised Brangus cattle. He was a salesman for Moorman Mfg. Co. and was promoted to district sales manger over Linn, Sullivan and Putman counties. Paul was also fond of horses, raising and showing them in reining and pleasure classes. He enjoyed rodeos especially going to the National Final’s Rodeo in Las Vegas, Nevada. While on the farm Paul took up the hobby of shooting handguns and participated in a number of tournaments. He particularly liked the cowboy action shooting and was a certified range officer in the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS), his handle was the “Dancing Deacon”. Paul and Barbara enjoyed dancing the western style two step, triple step and waltz. They competed for several years at the Missouri State Fair, winning the waltz, polka and the jitter bug contests. He served as a board member for the rural water district #1 for several years. Paul loved all of his family and spent many hours at wrestling tournaments watching his son and later his grandsons wrestle. He accepted Jesus as his savior while attending the Baptist Church in Linneus, Missouri. Later his family became members of Park Baptist church where he was ordained a deacon and he taught a men’s bible study class. There he had also served as the chairman of trustees. He loved his Lord and enjoyed talking and writing about Him. He is survived by his wife of the home, his three children and five grandchildren, Kody Hill (Jessica) Yuma Arizona, Karson Hill (Hannah) Reno Nevada, Maddie Spath, Chillicothe, Mo. Charlie Jane Hazelrigg and William Frank Hazelrigg both of Columbia, Mo. and two great grandsons Harvey and Arlo Hill of Yuma Arizona. He was preceded in death by both his parents and a daughter in law Verna (Smith) Hazelrigg. “See you on the other side”, Paul. Memorials to SonShine Group – Payable to Park Baptist Church.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 pm Wednesday night September 9,2026 at the Park Baptist Church , Funeral service will be 10:00 am Thursday September 10, 2026 at the Park Baptist Church with burial following with full military honors at Parklawn Memorial Gardens.
Source: KMZU, The Farm
