Instead of flowers and cards, Tim and Maria Hazelo are asking friends to donate to a special fund for Oak Harbor Memorial Stadium in memory of their son, Seldon.

Seldon Hazelo, a 17-year-old Oak Harbor High School junior, was killed Saturday afternoon in an accident on Highway 20 near the intersection of Monkey Hill Road.

The State Patrol reported that Seldon was driving a 1993 Nissan Sentra south on the highway when he struck a guard rail on the right side. His car veered across the center line and struck an oncoming 2004 Dodge Neon, driven by 52-year-old Kurt Bauch of Oak Harbor.

Seldon died at the scene of the accident. An ambulance brought Bauch and his 14-year-old passenger to Whidbey General Hospital.

Seldon’s parents, Tim and Maria Hazelo, said their son loved being on the high school football team and was a big supporter of the successful Memorial Stadium bond election. They hope to raise enough money that some kind of memorial to their son can be incorporated into the stadium. Like a plaque or a photo of him.

“I would just like to see his name at the stadium someday,” Tim Hazelo said.

Seldon had a special relationship with his father, and unlike most teenagers, he wasn’t embarrassed to tell others. On the teenager’s Web site at www.myspace.com, he wrote that he had two heroes in his life: NFL great Barry Sanders and his dad.

“He was my best friend,” Tim Hazelo said. “We were so close, more than anyone else.”

Seldon was on the track and wrestling teams, but he especially loved football. He was a running back on the Wildcats team. As a Seahawks fan, he was looking forward to having a Super Bowl party at his home with his family and friends.

Seldon was very well-known among teenagers in Oak Harbor. Tim Hazelo was formerly in the Navy and moved the family to Oak Harbor when Seldon was in first grade. He has two brothers, 15-year-old Tim (Landon) Hazelo and 20-year-old Kris Kaplan.

Maria Hazelo describes her son as a regular kid, maybe a little more handsome than most.

“He liked to party and have fun with his friends,” she said.

Seldon was a young man with diverse taste. His favorite movies were Top Gun and the musical Moulin Rouge. He liked all kinds of music, from soft rock to rap. “Pretty much anything but country,” he wrote on his Web page.

His parents say that Seldon recently decided he wanted to become a science teacher when he grews up.

Monday was a solemn day at Oak Harbor High School. Students and teachers at the school put up a banner, with signatures and messages, for Seldon in Parker Hall.

Memorial services for Seldon Hazelo will be held at 4 p.m., Friday, Feb. 10 at Parker Hall at the high school with Pastor Jim Mikos officiating. Cremation will follow with private family inurnment to follow at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Seldon’s name to the Oak Harbor Education Foundation, c/o Oak Harbor School District, 350 S. Oak Harbor Street, Oak Harbor, WA 98277, designated for the Memorial Stadium Fund. Tim Hazelo said he hopes to have donation boxes for Seldon’s memorial at Burley Funeral Home, the high school and perhaps businesses around town.

The family hopes to have a memorial Thursday, but details haven’t been finalized. Anyone interested in attending can call Burley Funeral Home at 675-3192.

You can reach Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or 675-6611.