MARIANNA, Fla. (WMBB) — One of Marianna’s most iconic modern figures has sadly passed away.
Derwin Hazelton, commonly known as DJ Diamond D, lost his four year battle with cancer on January 26. He was 54.
Hazelton played an integral part in the soundtrack of many people’s lives. For decades, he and his turntables were a mainstay at Marianna events.
Hazelton’s widow, Shelana, said she was always struck by his impact on the community.
“Living here for the past 13 years, I have learned that Derwin has been everyone’s DJ,” Shelana Hazelton said. “No matter how old, no matter how young. I work at a nursing home here, and one day a lady who was 110, as soon as I walked in, she said, ‘You’re Diamond’s wife, aren’t you? Look at you.’ And I thought, ‘How does this 110-year-old lady know my husband?’ and when I began to drive my daughter off to pre-K, the three-year-olds would be jumping up and down screaming, ‘Diamond D, Diamond D’. I’m like, from 3 to 110. This is crazy.”
Marianna Police Chief Hayes Baggett recognized Hazelton multiple times over the years for his contributions to the community.
“You know, he spent a lot of time at Sunland Training Center for the disabled folks here in town and they loved him,” Baggett said. “You know, the thing about Derwin was, he knew their names and he knew the people they played for and he knew his community. He knew everybody. Everybody knew Derwin. He will be greatly, greatly missed and it’s a big hole to fill for somebody and I don’t know if it can be filled.”
Hazelton was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer in January 2019.
It was a hard battle, but DJ Diamond D never lost his signature sparkle.
“It seemed as if I should have stopped him from DJing after his diagnosis but when he would DJ, I saw that I needed to allow him to continue,” Hazelton said. “He wasn’t one just to sit here. You can tell on the weekends he’d get a little more anxious because he knew he should have been somewhere DJing.”
Hazelton’s funeral services will be February 10 at 11 a.m. at Riverside Community Church in Marianna.
