John Hawkins Jr.

Jack attended high school at Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth. He distinguished himself by being the vice-president of the senior class and working on the school yearbook. John/Jack graduated and was known as a hard worker. He told us some of his early memories of being a teenager working with his dad who was a chauffeur to a wealthy family in Virginia. As his home was McLean Virginia near Washington DC, one of his first jobs on his own was working on the kitchen staff of the White House during President Roosevelt's term. Shortly after, he followed in his father’s footsteps serving in the military. He started with the Navy Reserves, then months later was active in the Navy just like his dad. After a period he moved to the Air Force. It’s interesting to note his first job in the Air Force was steering crash boats to rescue downed pilots in the sea near Puerto Rico. He transferred into the Air Force using his skills from the Navy! About a year later the Air Force transferred the crash boats to the Navy and Jack was retrained to aircraft engine mechanic. His experience of being a mechanic led to managing Air Force aircraft sales to foreign militaries. Jack spent a year in Vietnam helping train the Vietnamese Air Force to maintain and fly some jets they bought from the U.S. Overall John served 26 years in the Air Force with the highest rank of Senior Master Sergeant and then continued serving the military in Civil Service for about another decade and a half earning rank of GS14. During his career he moved to many places like Savannah, Georgia; Laredo, Texas; Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany; Universal City, Texas; Tucson, Arizona; Dayton, Ohio and retired in San Antonio, Texas. John excelled as he served on a committee to promote equal employment opportunity in the military.

On September 5, 1951, John was united in marriage to the beautiful late Carolyn Emma Scott and to this union they had three children. On April 29, 1977 he married the beautiful Frankie Arguijo. The two of them enjoyed traveling, visiting casinos across the U.S. from Atlanta, Louisiana, Las Vegas to San Francisco, vacationing in their mountain cabins, eating out at upscale restaurants, watching football and reading the newspaper together. John had shrewd business sense saving diligently and investing wisely to provide a comfortable life for his family.

John was a very meticulous man, liking everything clean and neat. He never left his bedroom without the bed being made even during his last months of illness. You could drop in on John and Frankie anytime day or night and their home would be immaculate. He was fond of white furniture and white carpet. He loved being outside. When he was younger he took his family camping often. You could find him working in the yard landscaping and gardening. He enjoyed remodeling projects around the home. Just like he was raised, he made sure his family went to church. His family was notable at New Testament Baptist Church in Tucson and the Gift Chapel at Fort Sam Houston Army Base in San Antonio.

John’s memories will be cherished by his loving wife Frankie, his children Michael Hawkins and his wife Diane, Cherryl Hoogendoorn with her husband Donald, Mark Hawkins and his wife Elda, his 11 grandchildren Christopher, Joshua, Rachel, Daniel (and Elizabeth), Naomi (and Samuel), Samuel (and Kari), Michael, Matthew, Esther, Samantha and Alejandra and 11 great grandchildren Peter, Philip, Lydia, Samuel, Bethel Lynn, Abigail, Joshua, Timothy, Karianna, Benjamin, and Zimri.

To our extended family and friends, words cannot convey our appreciation for all of your expressions of love, kind deeds, gifts and prayers of encouragement and strength. We want to give a very special thank you to Pastor John Myers for his compassion, support and generosity. He has a loving heart. The family would also like to thank the Franklin Park Alamo Heights staff for taking such great care of John especially during his last month of labor on Earth. Your expertise and compassion will never be forgotten. We want to thank Sunset Memorial Park and Funeral Home for making John’s transition more comforting.