Notes courtesy of Mary Jane (Hill) McIntire:
==================================

Notes: Aunt Mary was active until about the
last 5 years of her life. She loved to get up
and dance at the family reunions each year.
She was hard of hearing and had trouble seeing,
but her mind was very sharp. She never married.

Obituary, Smith County Pioneer,
Thursday, Sept. 3, 1987
Mary Hawkins Spent Long Life Helping Others
Mary Hawkins, the eighth child of
Orlando Sumner Hawkins and Mary Ellen
Shaffer Hawkins, was born March 19, 1885, in a
one-room sod house on her parents' homestead
6 1/2 miles northeast of
Smith Center. She died at Long Term Care Unit
of Smith County Memorial Hospital on
aug. 24, 1987, at the age of 102 years.
Mary received an elementary education at
Spring Creek School District. She helped
with farm work on the family farm, where all
learned the value of hard, honest toil which
blessed all of the family through the
remainder of their lives. In 1921, she went
to Taos, NM and lived on homesteaded land
until 1926. She then returned to Smith County
to live with and care for her aging mother.
Her mother died in 1939 and Mary went to the
West Coast, and lived with sisters, Cynthia,
Lucetta and Clara, helping in the homes and
working in local canneries. In 1949, she came
back to Atwood and assisted in the care of her
brother George's wife, Nannie. After Nannie died,
she cared for her brother until his death in 1953.
Later, she went back to the Northwest and
visited with family members and lived with sisters
Lucetta and Clara. Continuing her lifetime of
service to others Mary went to Inavale, Neb.
and lived with her sister Beulah until her death
in 1975. When Beulah died, shw was welcomed into
the home of sister-in-law Lavina. Here she was
lovingly cared for by Lavina and other members of
her family. She went into a nursing home for the
rest of her life. Mary never formally joined any
church but was a believer in Christ and spoke of
a baptismal experience during her early years.
She was a faithful Bible reader until her eyesight
failed. She also was a faithful listener to a
Baptist television minister. The Christian
principles were always apparent in her relationships.
Mary was a long-time member of
Hope Rebekah Lodge in Smith Center. She had a
remarkable memory and could name each one of her
many nieces and nephews and tell their
birth dates until she reached teh century
mark. She ws preceded in death by her parents
and by all of her brothers and sisters:
George, Sophia, Clara, Jacob, Orlando, Lucetta,
Beulah, Cynthia, Pearl, BEnjamin, and Wardie.
She is survived by sister-in-law Lavina Hawkins
of Smith Center, by many nieces and nephews who
held her in loving esteem, and also by many
friends. Funeral services were Aug. 26 at Simmons
Chapel, Smith Center, with Rev. Victor Schwarz
officiating. Donna Ayres and Lynne Devlin sang as
a duet with Dorothy Nelson as the accompanist.
Casket bearers were Allen Hill, Gary Tucker,
Wayne Morgan, Donald Peterson, Ronald Morgan,
and Jerry Hawkins. Burial was at
Fairview Cemetery, Smith Center.