Hazel Vorice McCord: the truth about Dick Van Dyke’s mother
Hazel Vorice McCord is the name most people search for when looking up the mother of Dick Van Dyke and Jerry Van Dyke. She was a stenographer from Illinois who married a travelling salesman named Loren Wayne Van Dyke and raised two sons who became American television stars.
There is a problem with the name itself, and it is worth clearing up before anything else.
Her middle name was Victoria.
Her name was Victoria, not Vorice
Dick Van Dyke’s official website states it plainly. He was born in West Plains, Missouri, on 13 December 1925, to Hazel Victoria (née McCord), a stenographer, and Loren Wayne Van Dyke, a salesman.
That is the closest thing to a primary source that exists for her, and it says Victoria.
“Vorice” appears in no official biography, no obituary, and no reputable reference work. It appears only on a cluster of recently built websites that copy each other. Once one of them published the misspelling, the rest repeated it, and the wrong version accumulated enough search volume to become the phrase people now type.
If you are researching genealogy, look for Hazel Victoria McCord Van Dyke. That is the name on the records.
Quick facts
| Status | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Hazel Victoria McCord Van Dyke. Confirmed by her son’s official biography. |
| Born | 1896 in Illinois. Day and month are disputed. |
| Occupation | Stenographer. Confirmed. |
| Husband | Loren Wayne “Cookie” Van Dyke, salesman |
| Sons | Dick Van Dyke (b. 1925), Jerry Van Dyke (b. 1931) |
| Family home | Danville, Illinois |
| Died | 27 September 1992, aged 95. Location disputed. |
| Buried | Sunset Memorial Park, Danville, Illinois |
What is actually documented
Almost nothing, and that is the honest answer.
Hazel Victoria McCord was a private woman born in the nineteenth century who never sought attention. She left behind census entries, a marriage record, two birth records and a headstone. There are no interviews, no published letters, no memoir.
The confirmed facts are these:
- She was born in Illinois in 1896.
- She worked as a stenographer.
- She married Loren Wayne Van Dyke.
- She had two sons, Dick and Jerry.
- She died on 27 September 1992 at the age of 95.
- She is buried in Danville, Illinois.
Everything beyond that list is either disputed between sources or invented.
Hazel Vorice McCord’s work as a stenographer
The one occupational detail that holds up across every source, including her son’s official biography, is stenography.
This was skilled office work. A stenographer took dictation in shorthand at speed and produced accurate typed records, which in the 1910s and 1920s meant sitting inside legal proceedings, business meetings and corporate correspondence. It required training and it paid.
For a woman in rural Illinois before the First World War, it was one of the few routes into professional employment that did not require a university degree.
Several sites also describe her as a teacher, a bill clerk, or a community volunteer. None of those is confirmed by a reliable source.
Marriage to Loren “Cookie” Van Dyke
She married Loren Wayne Van Dyke, known as Cookie, in the mid-1920s. Sources give the year variously as 1920, 1924 and 1925, so it cannot be stated precisely.
He worked as a travelling salesman. One account identifies his employer as the Sunshine Biscuit Company, which would explain the nickname, though that detail traces only to secondary sites.
Because his work kept him on the road, the day-to-day running of the household fell to her. The family settled in Danville, Illinois, and stayed.
Her sons
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne Van Dyke was born on 13 December 1925 in West Plains, Missouri, and grew up in Danville. He became one of the defining performers of American television and film, and is still working in his late nineties.
His Danville schoolmates included Donald O’Connor and Bobby Short, both of whom also became entertainers. It was an unusually productive small-town classroom.
Jerry Van Dyke
Jerry Van Dyke was born on 27 July 1931 in Danville. He built his own career in comedy and television, best known for the series Coach. He died in 2018.
The family line
The Van Dyke family has Dutch and English ancestry. The line traces back to John Alden, a passenger on the Mayflower.
That connection comes through the Van Dyke side rather than the McCord side, so it is her husband’s heritage rather than hers, though it is frequently attributed to her in online profiles.
What the internet invented about Hazel Vorice McCord
Search results for this name are almost entirely made up of recently created sites with no editorial staff. Several contradict each other on basic facts. These are the claims to distrust.
| Claim | Problem |
|---|---|
| Middle name “Vorice” | Her son’s official biography says Victoria. |
| Born 6 October 1896 / 16 June 1896 | Two different dates circulate. Neither is verifiable. |
| Died in Coronado, California / Little Rock, Arkansas | Two different death places circulate. |
| Teacher, bill clerk, community volunteer | Unconfirmed. Only stenographer holds up. |
| Detailed accounts of her personality and parenting | Invented. She left no interviews or writings. |
| A net worth figure | No estate records have been published. |
One page in the results describes her watching horse-drawn carriages give way to the Model T and later adapting to computers and the internet. That is not biography. It is filler written about a generic person who lived a long time.
Her death
Hazel Victoria McCord Van Dyke died on 27 September 1992 at the age of 95.
Genealogy records disagree on where. Some list Coronado in San Diego County, California; others list Little Rock, Arkansas. What is consistent across sources is her burial at Sunset Memorial Park in Danville, Illinois, the town where she raised her family.
Her husband died in 1975, according to secondary accounts.
Her net worth
No figure exists.
She was a stenographer and homemaker who died in 1992. No estate records have been published, and her sons’ earnings were never hers. Any number attached to her name online was invented to fill a heading.
FAQs
Who was Hazel Vorice McCord?
The mother of actors Dick and Jerry Van Dyke. Her documented name was Hazel Victoria McCord.
Was her middle name Vorice or Victoria?
Victoria. Dick Van Dyke’s official biography confirms it.
What did she do for a living?
She worked as a stenographer, taking shorthand dictation and producing typed records.
Who was her husband?
Loren Wayne “Cookie” Van Dyke, a travelling salesman.
When did she die?
On 27 September 1992, aged 95.
Where is she buried?
Sunset Memorial Park in Danville, Illinois.
How many children did she have?
Two sons, Dick Van Dyke and Jerry Van Dyke.
Is the Van Dyke family related to a Mayflower passenger?
Yes, through the Van Dyke line, which traces to John Alden.
What was her net worth?
No figure has ever been documented.
The short version
Hazel Victoria McCord was a stenographer from Illinois who married a biscuit salesman and raised two boys in Danville. Both became famous. She did not, and left almost no record of herself.
That is the whole story, and it is short. The long versions circulating online are padding, built around a misspelling of her own name. If you take one thing from this page, make it the spelling: she was Victoria.
JacksonPadilla is a writer at Around Celebrities, covering celebrity families, relationships, biographies, and the stories behind the stars. With a focus on clear and engaging storytelling, Kole helps readers discover the people and connections beyond the spotlight.
