Hazel Feltman was a Berks County native who overcame great adversity to pursue her passion for art. She suffered from poly-arthritis, which confined her to a wheelchair from the age of fourteen. At 27 she found some relief from a new medication which enabled her to pursue her life-long dream of becoming a painter. Her illness forced her to leave school in the seventh grade, but in 1967, at the age of 60, she became one of the first Berks Countians to receive a GED through an in-home program using instruction by television provided by Berks Area Community College. Portraiture was always the focus of her art.