Eden - Millicent (Mickey) Hecht Hair, 90, formerly of Eden, NC and most recently of Twin Lakes Retirement Community, Burlington, passed away peacefully on Friday night, March 16, 2018.

A funeral service celebrating the life of Mickey Hair will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 22 at the First Baptist Church,  533 Greenwood Street, Eden NC. The family will receive friends at the church from 1- 2 pm.  Burial will follow at Roselawn Memorial Gardens.

Born in Bath, Maine on February 17, 1928, Mickey was the daughter of the late Joseph Hecht and Phyllis Hecht.  As a small child, her mother died.  She was raised by her father and step-mother Katherine Hecht, also deceased. She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Hair and brother, Kurt Hecht of Phippsburg, Maine.  Those left to cherish her memory are her brother, Joseph Hecht of Lancaster, VA, sons David Hair and wife, Beth, of Greensboro, and Roger Hair and wife, Brenda, of Stoneville; four grandchildren, Matt Hair and wife, Ashley, of Raleigh, Margaret Hair and husband, Zach Fridell, of Lawrence, Kansas, Thomas Hair of Stokesdale and Anna Hair of Stoneville; two great-grandchildren, Rebecca and William Hair.

Mickey was a graduate of Morse High School in Maine and received her RN training at the New England Baptist Hospital School of Nursing in Boston, Massachusetts.  The school held a dance, and it was there that Mickey met her future husband, Robert Hair who was a student at M.I.T. and a native of North Carolina.  Mickey was intrigued by his southern accent.  That dance led to a 59 year marriage between best friends. Mickey continued her education completing her Bachelor’s degree in nursing at UNC-Chapel Hill and Master’s degree at UNC-Greensboro.  

Mickey often contributed to community projects, notably leading the very successful fund raising efforts for the maternity section of the then proposed new Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital in Elkin, NC during 1970-71.  

While completing her Master’s degree during the 1980’s she saw a great need for local hospice services.  Her most important contribution was helping to form Hospice of Rockingham County and became known to many as “The Mother of Hospice” in Rockingham County.   The Mickey Hair Volunteer of the Year Award was established to honor Mickey’s hard work and is still given to a deserving volunteer each year.  As well as being a long-term volunteer for hospice, Mickey assumed the volunteer position for the local American Cancer Society, helping to coordinate Relay for Life and patient services, including the programs Reach to Recovery, Road to Recovery and Look Good, Feel Better.  Mickey herself was a champion in the fight against cancer, having been a three-time cancer survivor.

Mickey was an active member of First Baptist Church of Eden, a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Eden Garden Club. The Eden Daily News named Mickey their Mother of the Year in 1984.  In 1990, she was nominated for the State Excellence in Teaching Award.  She retired as a long time clinical nursing instructor at Rockingham Community College where her specialty was oncology nursing.

Her family would like to thank the staff and caregivers at Twin Lakes Memory Care for their exceptional care of Mickey.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice of Rockingham County, PO Box 281, Wentworth, NC  27375.

The family is being served by Fair Funeral Home in Eden.