CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Hazel May Yates Johnston, 48, Cheyenne, died Monday October 22, 2007 at the Davis Hospice Center in Cheyenne, WY.

Visitation will be Friday from noon until 9 pm at the Kinkade Funeral Chapel in Sturgis. Funeral services will be 1:00 p.m. Saturday at the Church of Christ in Sturgis with Pastor Chris Nelson officiating. Burial follows at the Whitewood Cemetery in Whitewood, SD. A memorial has been established to the Hospice of Cheyenne.

Hazel was born January 12, 1959, at Sturgis, SD, to Wayne and Elma (Hale) Yates. She was a member of the first graduating class at Sturgis Brown High School. Hazel married Dan Johnston at Whitewood in 1979. They moved to Scottsbluff, NE where Hazel worked in food service at the hospital and later cooked in a resturant. They moved back to the Black Hills in 1984 and Hazel worked for F.L. Thorpe in Deadwood. She lived in several towns in the Black Hills before moving to Cheyenne, WY in 2005. She was employed at the Deli in Walmart. Hazel was a member of the Church of Christ in Sturgis. She was a longtime Girl Scout Leader and was a member of the American Cancer Society in Cheyenne.

Survivors include her sons Joshua Johnston, Cheyenne, WY, Jeremiah (Valerie) Johnston, Belle Fourche, Branden Walsh, Gillette, WY; daughters, Janielle Johnston, Cheyenne, WY, Malinda (Anthony) Fairbanks, Cheyenne, WY; brothers, Lawrence (Diana) Yates, Indianapolis, IN, Ronald (Pat) Yates, Glenrock, WY; sisters, Lela (Carl) Burch, Whitewood, SD, Waynita (Joe) Schlosser, Moorcroft, WY; one granddaughter, Kelly Ann.

She was preceded in death by her parents, one sister Deanna.