Biography
Hazel McLeod Wills was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina in 1886. She moved to Vermont when she was two years old. After attending Bennington High School, she went to Middlebury College where she was a 1909 Phi Beta Kappa graduate. She received an honorary M.A. degree from Middlebury in 1942. She supported the founding of Bennington College and served as a trustee to the school from 1946 to 1953. Wills was also a trustee at the University of Vermont for several years and was also awarded an honorary PhD from UVM.
Hazel McLeod married William Wills in 1914. William Wills served as Governor of Vermont from 1941 to 1945. Together, they had one daughter, Annie Wills Pike. Wills was involved in numerous organizations including the United Counseling Service Board of Directors, the Vermont Association for the Crippled, the Vermont Council on World Affairs, the Vermont Historical Society, the Elizabeth Lund Home, and the Eastern Star. She also served as a director of Station WRY in Schenectady, New York. From 1937 to 1941 and from 1953 to 1955, Wills served as the state president of the American Association of University Women. William Wills died in 1946, but Hazel remained active in Republican Politics and the Republican Women's Club in Bennington County. In 1960, she was persuaded to run for the Vermont Senate, and she served one term. Wills also enjoyed writing and was the author of "Bill Wills & Co.", along with a weekly column in the Bennington Banner. At her death in 1969, the AAUW chapter of Vermont was given money to establish a scholarship in her name.Education
BA, Middlebury College (1909)
MA, Middlebury College (1942)Occupation
Philanthropist
Director
Politician