He passed from this life on June 3, 2018 leaving behind his wife of 12 years, Theodore J. Grace; his daughters Robin Hawkes (David Tartak) of Sydney, Australia and Renne Chipman (Bill Chipman) of Kennesaw, Georgia; his sister: Karen Taylor of Louisville, KY; an aunt: Merle Edwards of Greensboro, Kentucky; stepchildren: Ellen Smead of Atlanta, Georgia, Elizabeth Dukes(Brian Dukes) of Greenville, South Carolina, and Emily Smead (Renee Trent) of Seymour, Tennessee . He also is survived by 11 grandchildren, several nieces and nephews, and his special friend, Michael (Captain Mick) Davenport.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Nancy Hawkes, and his parents, Herbert L. Hawkes, Jr. and Nell Ramsey.
Coach attended Elon College and received a Master of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina. He taught and coached basketball at Graham High School in North Carolina for 5 years before moving to Greeneville, Tennessee in 1968. At Greeneville High, he taught driver’s education and coached basketball and golf for 32 years.
Highlights from his long coaching career include multiple district and regional championships in both golf and basketball. Teams led by Coach Hawkes were the first in GHS history to appear in a State Championship Tournament. He was named TSAA Coach of the Year several times and was inducted into GHS Hall of Fame in 2009.
He was a member of St. James Episcopal Church where he served on the Vestry.
He volunteered for many years at Greeneville Food Bank. In addition, Coach had many interests, including woodcarving, furniture building, gardening, fishing, crossword puzzles, reading, joking with students at Greeneville High School, and having his driver education students drive him around Greeneville so he could run his errands.
Although he hated flying, Coach loved travelling; he visited countries all over the world. He climbed Sydney Harbour Bridge, walked the Great Wall of China, rode an elephant in Thailand, white water rafted in Bali, Indonesia, visited the castles and pubs of Great Britain, fished in Canada, and golfed in Singapore.
The family wishes to extend a special thanks to Crystal Humberstone; Laughlin Outpatient speech, physical and occupational therapy; Dr. Joe Austin; Dr M. Patterson; and Dr B.T. Bailey.
The family will receive friends on Thursday, June 7th, 5 pm to 7 pm.
The memorial service will follow visitation at 7 pm in the funeral home chapel.
A private inurnment will be held at GreeneLawn Memory Gardens.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be sent to American Stroke Foundation, 7272 Greeneville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75231; American Heart Foundation, 1 Almaden Blvd., Ste 500, San Jose, CA 95113; or St. James Episcopal Church, 107 W. Church Street, Greeneville, TN 37745.
