Claudia Lorraine Gazzo

Mrs. Claudia Lorraine Hurston Gazzo, age 85, beloved mother, grandmother, sister, and aunt passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 9, 2008. A native of Tampa, Florida, Mrs. Gazzo has resided on the Mississippi Coast since 1945. She was of the Baptist faith. She was a World War II Navy Veteran having served in the U. S. Navy WAVES as a radio operator at the U. S. Naval Mine Warfare Test Station in Solomons, Maryland. She was the recipient of the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal. In her early years in Biloxi, Mrs. Gazzo was a Cub Scout Den Mother; was active in PTA for 20 years, serving as President of Dukate Elementary School PTA and as President of the city-wide Biloxi PTA Council. Mrs. Gazzo was also a past President of the Lighthouse Business and Professional Women’s Club; past President of the Lyman C. Bradford Jr. VFW Ladies’ Auxiliary; and life-time member of Tampa Women’s Post 134 American Legion. Mrs. Gazzo was a 15-year member of both the Biloxi Planning Commission and the Harrison County Election Commission. She was a life-time member of the Biloxi Salvation Army Advisory Board; served as a member and Secretary of the Biloxi Boys Club Board of Directors; had been Chairman of the Harrison County March of Dimes; was Chairman of the Biloxi Heart Fund Drive; and was a long-time member and former Treasurer of the Fellowship Chapter #388 Order of the Eastern Star. In 1967 Mrs. Gazzo was named Biloxi’s Mother of the Year by the East Harrison County Lions Club and in 1985 was named Biloxi’s Volunteer of the Year by the City of Biloxi. In 1995 she became a resident of the U. S. Naval Home in Gulfport where she remained active in her civic duties by organizing voter registrations for residents and being involved in the WAVES National organization. After Hurricane Katrina she was relocated to the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington DC, but was able to return home to Mississippi in 2007. Mrs. Gazzo was preceded in death by her parents, William H. and Genevieve Niles Hurston of Tampa FL. She is survived by two sons Joe (Jean) of Biloxi and Vernon (Belinda) of Vancleave; seven beloved grandchildren Joe (Nicole) Gazzo, III, Jon (Amy) Gazzo of Tampa FL, Jake (Amy) Gazzo of Summit MS, Jena Gazzo Smith (Martin) and Jason (Wendi) Gazzo of Biloxi, Vernon (Christy) Gazzo, II of Hattiesburg, and Angela Gazzo Blount (Chris) of Nashville TN; and ten wonderful great-grandchildren Mason, Matthew, Luke, and Emma of Tampa, Kiley and Jacob of Summit, Martin Joseph (MJ), Joelle, and Coleman of Biloxi, and Austin of Nashville. She is also survived by her sister Lois Slatton, Thonotosassa FL; brother William Vernon Hurston and wife Ouida of Pace FL, and many beloved nieces and nephews. Visitation will be Thursday, March 13, 2008, from 10 a.m. until 12 noon at Bradford O’Keefe Funeral Home Howard Ave., in Biloxi. Funeral services will follow at 12 noon with interment in Biloxi City Cemetery.